A property sale between longtime friends in San Antonio has developed into a protracted legal dispute, with attorney Martin Phipps and his rooftop cocktail bar, Paramour, agreeing to surrender their spaces in a River Walk building. In late 2022, Phipps’ company, Emet LLC, agreed to sell the property at 102 Ninth St. to CDC Enterprises LP for $11 million. The deal later unravelled over a disputed $2.75 million arrangement involving the purchase price and prepaid rent, alongside allegations of unpaid rent. In late October 2025, a jury found that Phipps and his companies had committed fraud against CDC and awarded the company more than $1.2 million in damages and attorneys’ fees. The dispute continued through eviction proceedings and repeated lockouts. On October 9, 2026, the parties signed agreements requiring Phipps’ law firm and Paramour to surrender their spaces, with a limited period to remove their belongings. The agreements resolve the immediate eviction proceedings but do not establish that every financial or contractual dispute arising from the sale has been settled.
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