The fired executives are hitting back. And their lawsuits are pulling the curtain off one of the nastiest family power struggles in professional sports.
For months, the McNair family feud played out as a sibling-versus-sibling grudge match fought through sealed filings and whispered allegations in Harris County courts. Now the collateral damage has lawyered up. Longtime executives who got swept out during a March 2024 boardroom blitz are dragging Cal McNair and his sisters into courtrooms of their own, and the picture they paint of life inside Houston's most powerful dynasty is deeply ugly.
It all traces back to November 2023, when Cary McNair filed a petition for guardianship of the family matriarch, Janice McNair. That single filing cracked open a fault line. What poured out was a sprawling legal war over the Houston Texans, the family's billion-dollar business empire built by the late Bob McNair before his passing in 2018, and the question of who really controls the McNair fortune.
The March 2024 "coup": a turning point
On March 7, 2024, the cold war went hot.
Three of Bob McNair's four children -- Cal, Ruth, and Melissa -- allegedly executed a coordinated takeover of the family's business operations. Scott Schwinger, a McNair executive of more than 30 years, does not mince words about what happened. He calls it a "coup." The trio moved fast, stripping their brother Cary of his executive and trustee roles across the family organizations. Armed guards showed up. Longtime employees were marched out.
"They stripped their brother Cary of his executive and trustee roles within the family organizations, and, with the help of armed guards, purged the ranks of longtime McNair officers and employees," Schwinger recounted, describing the atmosphere as tense and surreal.
Left to Right: Robert "Cary" McNair, Jr.; Scott Schwinger; Wade Turner; John Price (Photo: Court Filing)
Weeks later, the NFL made it official -- Cal McNair became the principal owner of the Houston Texans. While Cal worked to project calm, chatting up fans online and playing the role of steady franchise steward, the family empire behind him was tearing itself apart.
Legal maneuvers and accusations
The March takeover detonated a chain reaction of lawsuits.
The Palmetto Trust Company, a key entity managing the family's assets, filed suit against Cary McNair, his son Holt, and other executives, alleging breach of fiduciary duties and civil conspiracy. Cary fired back with his own legal counteractions, asserting that his siblings conspired to remove him from power.
Then Schwinger stepped into the ring. His lawsuit, filed in Harris County District Court, lays out a methodical account of how Cal, Ruth, and Melissa allegedly maneuvered their mother Janice into relinquishing sole control over the trusts managing the family's businesses. Once the siblings had that leverage, they moved quickly -- ousting Cary from Palmetto Trust and dismissing him as manager of McNair Interests.
Schwinger served the McNair family for over 30 years as CFO of the Texans and President of McNair Interests. His petition describes receiving a letter on the day of the takeover that stripped him of all officer and committee positions in a single stroke. Decades of service, ended by a piece of paper delivered under the watch of armed guards.
His attorneys' filing in Harris County District Court details the timeline leading up to the takeover:
Court filing from Schwinger lawsuit detailing the McNair Interests takeover timeline (Photo: Harris County District Court)
Additional filing from Schwinger's legal action against McNair Interests (Photo: Harris County District Court)
Contentious contracts and employment agreements
At the heart of Schwinger's case sits a fight over his Employment Agreement. Schwinger argues the takeover constituted a "change of control," triggering his contractual rights to post-termination benefits. McNair Interests, now under new leadership, sees it differently -- the company accuses Schwinger and other executives of crafting overly generous retention agreements designed to line their own pockets.
In April 2023, the company's new litigation counsel sent Schwinger a letter accusing him of facilitating a "self-serving exercise" through contracts that McNair Interests claims included "unusual" provisions. Schwinger maintains that the agreements were mutually agreed upon and legally binding, complete with standard non-compete clauses and confidentiality agreements.
Both sides attempted mediation. It did not last. Just before a scheduled session in June 2024, McNair Interests and Palmetto Trust filed yet another lawsuit -- this one in Harris County Probate Court -- targeting Schwinger, Cary, Holt, and other executives with allegations of various breaches of fiduciary duties. Schwinger viewed the new legal action as a violation of the mediation agreement, raising serious questions about the legal strategy being deployed against him.
The broader executive fallout
Schwinger is not fighting alone.
Wade Turner, who served as Senior Vice President and General Counsel at McNair Interests, has filed his own lawsuit seeking a declaratory judgment for breach of contract, indemnification, and advancement of legal fees. Turner alleges that McNair Interests failed to honor its contractual obligations to cover his legal expenses during the ongoing litigation.
Court document from Turner's lawsuit seeking declaratory judgment (Photo: Harris County District Court)
John D. Price, who served as Senior Vice President, CFO, and Treasurer at McNair Interests, is another executive named in the lawsuits. Price has not yet responded publicly, but he too faces scrutiny as part of the broader power struggle consuming the McNair organization.
The pattern is stark: a generation of executives who spent their careers building the McNair empire now find themselves locked in litigation with the very family they served.
What's next?
The original guardianship case involving Janice McNair remains unresolved. In July 2024, Cary McNair filed a letter and exhibits with the court that have since been sealed from public view -- one more locked door in a house already full of secrets.
Robert "Cary" McNair, Jr. (Photo: McNair Family)
The timing makes this saga even more consequential. The NFL recently approved private equity investments in franchises -- an unprecedented shift that could reshape ownership structures across the league. With billions of dollars and the future of the Houston Texans hanging over these proceedings, the McNair family's internal war carries implications that reach far beyond any single courtroom in Harris County.
Daniel "Cal" McNair (Photo: KTRK)
Bob McNair spent decades constructing a dynasty. His children are spending years dismantling it in open court. The fired executives suing their way back into the story are making sure the rest of us get to watch. As lawsuits stack up and sealed filings multiply in Harris County, the only certainty left is that this fight -- over the Texans, the trusts, and the McNair legacy itself -- is a long way from over.
Related Stories
The Redstone Wars: How Shari Outlasted Her Father and Sold the Empire He Built
Sumner Redstone spent decades trying to keep his daughter away from his media empire. She got it anyway — and then sold every last piece of it for $8 billion. Along the way: a son bought out for $250 million, a companion evicted from a mansion, a CBS CEO fired in disgrace, and Donald Trump walking off with $16 million on his way to the White House.
The House of Gucci ran on blood before anyone pulled a trigger
The family that built one of the world's most recognizable luxury brands spent decades tearing each other apart — in courtrooms, boardrooms, and finally, on a Milan street. The murder of Maurizio Gucci in 1995 was the final act of a dynasty that had been killing itself for years.
The Woman Who Tried to Save Her Mother from a Billion-Dollar Con
Liliane Bettencourt was the world's richest woman — and she was being drained of a billion dollars by her best friend. Her daughter went to war to stop it, and blew up French politics in the process.