A jury today dealt developer Mohamed Hadid a massive victory - and his Los Angeles neighbors a stunning defeat - in their long-running lawsuit against the maverick tycoon over his giant mansion that they fear could come crashing down a hillside and destroy their homes.

The Santa Monica jury awarded the neighbors - Joe and Bibi Horacek and John and Judy Bedrosian - a total of $2.9 million.

But that was just a fraction of the $26 million they were seeking to compensate them for the pain and anxiety and the loss of use and value of their homes they say they suffered over the last decade while Hadid was building his huge house in wealthy Bel Air.

After the verdict - which ended a trial that lasted six weeks - one of Hadid's jubilant lawyers, Christopher Pitet, told DailyMail.com, 'This is a major victory. We could not be more pleased with the jury's verdict. 

'The jury clearly agreed that Mohamed Hadid did not intend to deceive or injure anybody.

'This verdict goes a long way to restoring Mr. Hadid's reputation.'

Outside the courtroom where the jury took three days to reach a verdict, the Horaceks looked devastated over the decision to award them only $2.6 million and the Bedrosians just $300,000.

'That doesn't even begin to pay our legal fees or the cost of the trial,' 80-year-old Joe Horacek told DailyMail.com.

'I'm disappointed because it wasn't about the money. We were standing up for the community and the rule of law.'

His wife, Bibi, estimated that they and the Bedrosians jointly spent about $9 million in legal fees fighting Hadid and his mammoth mansion.