Your Words Heard

Over the past few months or so, many many people have left messages to Trademark on this site. In a conversation with Richard, he wanted to send along a quick word in thanks:

 

"Team Trademark is appreciative of all the feedback and overwhelmed by the continued interest. And stay tuned, we are far from over!" - Richard Davis

 

Click here to leave your message

Re-runs rule! Click here for the schedule at TLC

•  8.17.08
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A&E Sore Losers

A&E filed a request last week for a judgment in its favor or for a new trial. It said Davis based his argument on one telephone call with A&E representative Charles Norlander, without documentation or witnesses.

"The jury can only have acted out of a misplaced sense that Mr. Davis deserved to be paid, but sympathy verdicts have no place in a contract case," attorneys for the network wrote.

It also suggested that even if a profit-sharing agreement existed, it was not enforceable.
When Davis severed ties with A&E and signed on with competing network Discovery Communications, A&E noted that he signed paperwork saying he had no agreement with A&E.
"In defiance of the evidence, the law and common sense, the jury awarded millions in damages based on a supposed 'agreement' that Plaintiffs plainly failed to prove," the network said in its motion.

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Isn't it more likely that Richard would have expected compensation for his idea and work rather than have told A&E, here, have all this for free? And as such, if A&E wants to talk "logic" and "law", usually it is the norm in this capitalist society for the creators of big ideas to be fairly compensated.

And has anyone else noticed all traces of season one of "Flip This House" is GONE from the A&E site since the verdict came in?

•  12.02.08
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Richard Davis wins lawsuit against A&E!

"I feel personally vindicated by the jury's verdict finding that I have always had an agreement with A&E. This victory is much bigger than me. This verdict makes it clear that if a network uses and profits from someone's concept for a television show, they need to pay for it. I am thankful that we were able to win one for the little guy," Davis said in his statement. link

Click here to share your thoughts in an Open Letter about the lawsuit

More Details:

CHARLESTON, S.C. (AP) — A federal jury awarded a South Carolina real estate investor more than $4 million Wednesday in a dispute over profits from the reality television show "Flip This House." Charleston jurors deliberated five hours before awarding the money to Richard C. Davis, who created the show and appeared on its first season, the Post and Courier reported.

Davis, who runs the Trademark Properties Inc. real estate firm on James Island, sued after he said the cable network broke an oral agreement to split profits from the show.

Attorneys for A&E have said the network had no such agreement.

Frank Cisa, Davis' attorney, said the award represents half of the show's first-season profits and a third of international profits from the first three seasons. Cisa said his client had sought half of the net profits from all three seasons but was pleased with the verdict.

"It was a difficult case," Cisa said. His client did not appear in the second and third seasons. A spokesman said the network was disappointed and would take further action. "We are deeply disappointed in the jury's decision and will follow up the appropriate steps to have the verdict reversed," A&E spokesman Michael Feeney said Wednesday. Story Link

Click here for additional details at Post Courier

More in the Los Angles Times

•  11.12.08
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Trial Updates

From The Post and Courier:

11-4: Davis, the 45-year-old owner of Trademark Properties, insists he and A&E representatives had a verbal agreement to split any revenue from the show. Attorneys for both sides gave opening arguments Monday in a federal court trial to determine the validity of that claim.

Mount Pleasant attorney Frank Cisa, who represents Davis, said the two parties agreed to share whatever revenue remained after each had been reimbursed for expenses.

Cisa said "the only way" Davis would hand over his project to A&E was in a partnership, not a sale. When the season ended, Davis was not duly compensated, according to Cisa.

Click here to read full story

11-6: ...when Davis asked for rough cuts of the show or a copy of a contract from a third-party production company, he encountered roadblocks, he said. By then the person with whom he said he made the verbal agreement for the 50-50 revenue split no longer worked for A&E...

A&E attorney Jeremy Feigelson began his cross-examination of Davis at about 5 p.m., first attempting to show discrepancies in Davis' timeline for negotiations with TLC, the cable network that later showcased his firm. Then Feigelson showed a letter Trademark Properties sent to potential investors to illustrate what Davis believed he stood to gain from "Flip This House" while he was involved in the show. The letter said the "national audience associated with the program will accelerate Trademark's growth."

Click here to read full story

11-7: A&E's New York-based attorney Jeremy Feigelson worked to disprove Davis' claim that his Trademark Properties and the network verbally agreed to a 50-50 profit split from the reality series "Flip This House."

"The agreement we're talking about is an agreement in your mind?" Feigelson asked.

Davis calmly replied that it was "absolutely an agreement" he had with an A&E representative. Finally, after more than 10 hours of testimony spread over three days, he lost his patience.

Responding to one question, David raised his voice and said, "It's my possession. You stole it. ... You stole my possession."

Click here to read full story

11-8: For days the jury in a breach of contract trial between local real estate magnate Richard Davis and television network A&E has heard over and over about a man named Charles Norlander. Davis alleges that he and Norlander hatched the 50/50 profit split for the show "Flip This House" in a verbal agreement at the heart of Davis' lawsuit. Friday, a man with a goatee and Harry Potter-styled spectacles took the witness stand and repeatedly denied any such conversation ever took place.

Click here to read full story

•  11.04.08
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Trial Begins

From the Los Angeles Times:

A jury trial in Charleston, S.C., begins today to determine whether cable programmer A&E Television Networks must pay a South Carolina real estate broker as much as $30 million for creating the popular get-rich-through-real-estate show "Flip This House."...

According to court documents, Davis spent $6 million buying and renovating houses in the Charleston area that were featured in the show's first season.

Davis said he was never paid for his appearances on "Flip This House" nor was he reimbursed for his expenses. A&E said that Davis initially did not seek compensation because he saw the show "as a powerful form of advertising" for his real estate business, Trademark Properties Inc., "which he hoped to expand or franchise on a national basis."

After only 13 episodes, A&E and Davis had a falling out when the two sides attempted to negotiate his participation in a second season. The cable channel drafted a contract for Davis to appear as "on-air talent." He refused to sign and subsequently filed the lawsuit.

Click here to read the full article

•  11.03.08
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