Jacob Sudhoff, the former CEO of Douglas Elliman Texas, has sued the developer behind The Ritz-Carlton Residences, Houston, claiming he was never properly paid for work he says helped land the project's headline $30 million penthouse buyer and a major equity investor. A Harris County judge has already rejected his bid to freeze work on the $290 million Uptown tower while the case plays out, instead sending the dispute to arbitration.
Sudhoff sued an entity affiliated with developer Deiso Moss and its partners, Andrew Deiso and Taylor Moss, according to The Real Deal. He worked with Deiso Moss starting in October 2024 and continued into August 2025, and he alleges he was never appropriately compensated for that work, with damages he says exceed $1 million. Sudhoff also asked the Harris County District Court to pause construction on the 45-story tower until the lawsuit was resolved, a request the court denied along with his motion for a temporary restraining order.
At the center of the dispute is who gets credit — and payment — for two of the project's biggest wins. Sudhoff's client list, per the lawsuit, included the buyer of the project's $30 million penthouse, a sale believed to have set a Texas record for luxury condo pricing, according to reporting cited by the project's own press materials. His client roster also reportedly included a representative for Jumana Capital, the Houston-based single-family office that announced a significant investment in the tower.
Two Very Different Accounts of the Engagement
Sudhoff alleges Deiso Moss violated an exclusivity agreement by firing him and then working directly with his clients — including, he claims, the penthouse buyer and the Jumana Capital contact he says he introduced. A Deiso Moss spokesperson tells a different story: that Sudhoff was hired only to raise equity, not to sell condos, and that his engagement ended before the project's official sales launch. The spokesperson added that the penthouse sale was unrelated to Sudhoff's scope of work, and that Sudhoff was ultimately terminated because he did not bring in enough investment.
Deiso Moss brought marketing and sales firm Redeavor Group onto the project in May 2025, the same firm that now handles sales and marketing for the tower. A spokesperson for the developer said the Ritz-Carlton Residences, Houston is progressing as planned regardless of the litigation, and the Harris County District Court's decision to send the parties to arbitration means the underlying question — whether the project owes Sudhoff additional wages — will now be decided outside public courtrooms.
A Record-Setting Project With High Stakes
The numbers explain why the fight is so heated. Developers reported exceeding $203 million in presales within four months of the project's public launch, headlined by the $30 million penthouse contract, according to figures reported by the development's press office. The 605-foot tower at 2120 Post Oak Boulevard is planned to include a 156-room hotel, 112 luxury condos, 35,000 square feet of restaurant space and 50,000 square feet of hotel amenities, with completion targeted for fall 2029.
The site has a complicated history. Developer Deiso Moss previously secured a $26.1 million bridge loan from New York lender Northwind Group in 2022 for an earlier, delayed 43-story mixed-use proposal on the same parcel before redesigning and rebranding it as a Ritz-Carlton project. The rebrand carries civic weight, too — it marks the return of the Ritz-Carlton hotel flag to Houston proper for the first time since 1997, when a former River Oaks hotel lost its brand designation, per the Houston Chronicle. Development partner Cleary Interests, formed by Joe Cleary after 49 years at Harvey Cleary, is serving as general contractor.
Sudhoff's Rocky Recent History in Texas Real Estate
Sudhoff built his reputation through Sudhoff Companies, founded in 2010, which held an estimated 85 percent market share in Houston's new luxury condo sales before joining with Douglas Elliman in August 2019 to form Douglas Elliman Texas as a joint venture, with Sudhoff assisting in bringing the brokerage to the state. He served as CEO of Douglas Elliman Texas in 2022 before transitioning to a senior leadership advisor role in August 2023, following public scrutiny over a Texas Monthly profile detailing a marketing strategy in Dallas's Highland Park neighborhood — one in which Sudhoff had paired a Sikh agent with a white former Dallas Cowboys cheerleader in 2021. Texas Monthly had once hailed Sudhoff as a real estate savant. He remained an advisor to Douglas Elliman into 2024 before his engagement with Deiso Moss began.
What Happens Next
Under the Texas Real Estate License Act, a person generally cannot maintain a court action to recover compensation for real estate brokerage services unless the underlying agreement is in writing and signed by the party being charged — a statutory backdrop that could shape how arbitrators weigh Sudhoff's claims. For now, the physical development is moving forward on schedule regardless of the legal fight, with the outcome hinging on written engagement contracts, fee structures and where Sudhoff's work legally falls between a sales commission and a finder's equity fee. The Ritz-Carlton project also sits within a broader wave of hotel-branded luxury towers reshaping Houston, including the St. Regis Residences near Memorial Drive and Auberge-branded condos at The RO.
