Houston real estate investor and reality TV personality Washington Ho is in the middle of a messy courtroom fight with the former CEO of his brokerage, White House Global Properties.
Christy Huckaby, who was hired in January 2024 to run the firm, sued last September alleging Ho, current CEO Angelica Smart and the company lured her with false promises, failed to pay her salary, withheld commissions and damaged her reputation, the Houston Business Journal reported. She’s seeking between $250,000 and $1 million in damages.
Huckaby claims she was promised $10,000 a month for six months but received only $21,500, and that Ho and Smart withheld $170,000 in sales commissions. She also alleges she lost out on a nearly $276,000 commission tied to a $4.6 million listing for ex-Houston Rockets star Steve Francis, which she says Ho and Smart improperly took over.
Beyond the money, Huckaby accuses the pair of defamation, making inappropriate sexual comments and dangling the prospect of a reality TV role — a spinoff of Ho’s HBO Max show “House of Ho” — that never materialized.
Ho and Smart countersued, denying her claims and accusing Huckaby of breach of fiduciary duty. Their filing alleges Huckaby crippled the brokerage by taking 20 agents with her when she left, including her 13-person real estate team The Closers — Ho brought on her team along with the CEO hire — and by shutting down the firm’s website. They also claim Huckaby attempted to blackmail them for $500,000 with what they described as damaging personal material.
The fallout extends beyond the principals. Nicole Lopez, White House’s former COO, followed Huckaby out the door just two months into the job. Court documents show Huckaby released Lopez from a noncompete, enabling her move to Huckaby’s team. Lopez has since joined Corcoran Genesis and previously told the outlet she left White House due to a “very chaotic environment.”
Neither Huckaby nor her attorney responded to requests from the outlet for comment. Ho declined to comment.
Ho launched White House with Smart in late 2023 after leaving eXp Realty, a move due in part to disagreements over its commission structure. Ho pitched the firm as a new kind of brokerage with fair commissions and a focus on investment. Instead, less than a year later, it became entangled in dueling lawsuits with its founding leadership. A motion for a jury trial is set for October, where both sides are seeking damages.
Earlier this year, the firm expanded beyond Houston with a foray into Austin, and announced plans to hire 30 to 50 agents over the next few years. The brokerage tends toward luxury listings, but it intends to represent all sectors of the Austin market, including lower-cost residential, commercial, industrial and development properties.
— Eric Weilbacher
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