Family businesses often lead to family feuds

Over the years, San Antonio has seen several cases proving that matters of business can tear apart families.

The latest to boil over involves the estate of Germano “Jim” Hasslocher, which includes the Jim’s Restaurant chain and Magic Time Machine restaurants.

In 2002, he and wife Veva Hasslocher wrote a letter to their five adult children laying out a complex succession plan for the restaurant empire they had spent more than a half-century building. The plan remained largely in place at the time of their deaths. Veva, who suffered from Alzheimer’s disease, died at 84 in 2009, and Jim died at 93 in 2015.

But their planning didn’t head off a years-long feud in Jim’s probate case, which pits daughters Caryn and Susan Hasslocher against their brother Jimmy Hasslocher, a former five-term San Antonio city councilman who’s CEO and president of Hasslocher Enterprises, the chain’s parent company.

Now the sisters, who say they haven’t received any distributions from their parents’ estates, have leveled a slew of allegations in a lawsuit against their brother. Among them: improperly using company assets to enrich himself; misusing millions of dollars in pandemic relief aid received from the federal government; and failing to repay hundreds of thousands of dollars in loans from the company.

Here’s a look at four other

cases from recent years in which area families have gone to war among themselves over business matters:

New Orleans Saints, Pelicans

In 2015, billionaire Tom Benson entered a long and bitter court battle with his estranged daughter, Renee Benson of Blanco, regarding her ownership stakes in the New Orleans Saints and Pelicans pro sports teams.

Between 2009 and 2014, a series of trusts had been created giving Renee and her children control of about 60 percent of nonvoting shares for the Saints and 95 percent for the Pelicans. But in 2015, Tom Benson made it clear that he wanted to leave full ownership of the Saints to his third wife of more than 11 years, Gayle Benson, after the family

had a falling out the previous year.

In 2017, the father and daughter reached a confidential settlement after several months of negotiations.

Benson amassed his wealth in San Antonio, where he built an empire of car dealerships and local banks starting in the 1950s. He died in 2018 at the age of 90.

Rush Enterprises

After the death in May 2018 of W. Marvin Rush II, founder of the Rush Enterprises chain of truck dealerships, his third wife, Barbara Rush, and his son W.M. “Rusty” Rush III, the chain’s chairman, filed separate wills for his estate.

The assets at stake included his stock in the company, which, as of February, operated more than 125 dealerships in 23 states, according to its annual filing with the U.S. Security and Exchange Commission. His shares were worth nearly $74 million in 2018.

Rusty said those shares belonged to him based on a 2006 will, while Barbara said Marvin had made a new will in 2013.

Black’s Barbecue

In the town of Lockhart, about 70 miles northeast of San Antonio, the Black family has operated a barbecue joint, now known as The Original Black’s Barbecue, since 1932. In 2008, Kent Black became the business’ third-generation pitmaster when he took over upon the retirement of his parents, according to Wide Open Eats.

In 2014, twin brothers Mike and Mark Black told Eater Austin that Kent Black’s barbecue techniques “have violated Black’s Barbecue’s ‘old school’ traditions,” saying he had moved away from using open pits in favor of rotisserie cookers. They then decided to start their own barbecue restaurant in Austin, Terry Black’s BBQ, and have since expanded to Dallas. They plan to open a location in Lockhart this year, according to their website.

Bill Hall Jr. Trucking

In 2013, trucking magnate Bill Hall Jr. was killed when his wife, Frances A. Hall, knocked his motorcycle off the road after a highway chase. He had been following a Range Rover she owned driven by his lover, Bonnie Contreras.

Bill died without a will, so his share of the estate passed to his widow, Frances. Justin Hall, their son, later sued to take control of the estate from his mother, who by then was serving a prison sentence for killing him. In 2017, he lost the court battle when Bexar Probate Judge Tom Rickhoff made a ruling that confirmed Frances’ claim to 100 percent of the estate, including the Bill Hall Jr. Trucking companies.

Associated Press file photo In 2012, New Orleans Saints owner Tom Benson and his third wife, Gayle, attend a game in New Orleans. His decision to leave full ownership of the Saints to his wife led to a long and bitter court fight with his daughter.

Courtesy photo After the death of W. Marvin Rush II, above, Barbara Rush and her stepson W.M. “Rusty” Rush III filed competing wills.

Mike Sutter / Staff When Kent Black took over as pitmaster of Black’s Barbecue after his parents retired, his brothers disapproved of his cooking techniques.

Staff file photo Jimmy Hasslocher, above, and other children of the founders of the Jim’s Restaurants chain are in court battling over the estate.

Jerry Lara / Staff file photo Murder had a role in Justin Hall’s fight to control the estate of his father, trucking magnate Bill Hall Jr.