The high-profile family feud shaking up one of San Antonio’s best-known real estate firms is on hold, at least for now. Brothers Steve Braha and Jacques “Jack” Braha have agreed to pause their dueling lawsuits over control and management of Fulcrum Development and Fulcrum Property Group while they head to mediation. The temporary ceasefire is meant to give both sides a chance to hash out their governance and project disputes without more courtroom fireworks, a stretch investors, lenders and tenants tied to Fulcrum projects will be watching closely over the next month.
A filing in Texas Business Court shows the parties jointly asked the court to suspend the litigation and submit to mediation with San Antonio mediator Don Philbin, with a target of resolving the dispute by June 30, 2026, according to the San Antonio Express-News. Judge Stacy Rogers Sharp signed off on the pause, which temporarily freezes deadlines and hearings while talks play out. The move comes after several weeks of sharply worded filings that laid bare deep disagreements over how the company is run and where it should be headed.
The clash erupted earlier this spring when a complaint from Steve Braha and partner Benjamin Dreszer accused Jack Braha of cutting secret deals, sharing confidential information and straining key business relationships, as reported by the Houston Chronicle. Jack fired back in early May with counterclaims asking the court to strip his brother and Dreszer of management roles and arguing that Fulcrum had drifted toward large luxury and multifamily projects outside its traditional focus.
Broadway East and the stakes for the city
At the center of those worries is Broadway East, a roughly 15-acre mixed-use development Fulcrum is co-developing with New York–based GrayStreet Partners. The project sits immediately across Broadway from the Pearl, and its first phase is expected to bring about 160,000 to 170,000 square feet of retail and restaurant space. Those obligations, along with Fulcrum’s broader portfolio, are a big part of what makes control of the company so critical to investors and local partners, according to industry coverage by ConnectCRE.
Jack Braha’s attorney has pushed back hard on the accusations. Glenn Deadman called the claims “baseless” and said his client has “always acted in the best interests of the partnerships and investors,” the San Antonio Express-News reported. Court filings also describe Fulcrum Property Group as overseeing real estate holdings worth hundreds of millions of dollars, another reason stakeholders are glued to every development in the case.
What happens next
For now, all eyes shift to mediation under Don Philbin, with both sides telling the court they will try to settle the dispute by June 30. If talks fall apart, the litigation timeout will expire and the Texas Business Court case is expected to pick back up, potentially with hearings over money damages, control of the companies and efforts to remove managers from their roles. In the meantime, the pause gives local stakeholders a brief window to see whether an out-of-court deal can cool the family feud and keep major Fulcrum projects, including Broadway East, moving forward.
