Article Title: Trial nearing for 'Flip This House' lawsuit

Excerpt: Perhaps the most intriguing installment of "Flip This House" could play out in a Charleston courthouse, as a high-stakes legal dispute starring the reality TV series is set to be heard in the Holy City. Last week, lawyers for locally based Trademark Properties Inc. and A&E Television Networks told U.S. District Court Judge C. Weston Houck that they will be prepared to argue the case in front of a jury next month. The fracas pits A&E against "Flip This House" creator and onetime host Richard C. Davis of Trademark Properties, who, according to his complaint, had a 50-50 revenue-sharing agreement with A&E under a verbal agreement. Despite repeated requests, the network would not confirm the arrangement in writing, his lawsuit alleged. The cable network, which aired Davis' version of the real estate show until 2006, has argued that it never agreed to share revenue from "Flip This House." Davis sued the network and is seeking damages in excess of $1 million. A&E sought to have the lawsuit dismissed last year, but its request was shot down. Houck ruled that enough evidence existed to make a case that there was an oral agreement. "I don't believe it needs to be in writing for it to be enforceable," he said at a hearing last year. When Davis still was involved with "Flip This House," the show followed the onetime real estate appraiser and a band of co-workers as they rode out the real estate wave by acquiring homes to be fixed up and "flipped" to new buyers. Jury selection in the case is set for Nov. 3. The trial, which is expected to take at least week, should start shortly thereafter. That is, unless a settlement can be scripted.

Article Title: A fitting tribute

Excerpt: The small brick house, relocated to the street across from the Greenville Drive’s home stadium two years ago, will finally open for visitors this weekend after a dedication ceremony. Jackson’s house, where the baseball icon died in 1951, originally was located on Wilburn Street, but Charleston real-estate developer Richard C. Davis purchased the 950-square-foot house and moved it near Fluor Field in 2006.

Excerpt: The museum will use photos to chronicle the life and career of Jackson, who got his start in the textile leagues of the Upstate and went on the major leagues, where he earned a lifetime batting average of .356, third-highest in the sport’s history. He was banned from baseball after the 1919 Black Sox scandal and is ineligible for induction into the Baseball Hall of Fame as a result. During the grand opening, fans will be able to see a few Jackson artifacts on loan for the event, including a copy of his will, which contains one of a few surviving examples of Jackson’s signature, Marcley said.

Article Title: Lots of real estate, but few buyers

Excerpt: Real estate broker and cable TV personality Richard C. Davis' much-promoted real estate auction at the Francis Marion Hotel started out on a high note. For a mere $7,500, a buyer snatched up a lot on Daufuskie Island that sits on the 10th fairway of the Haig Point golf course. But the owners of the following 48 properties weren't so lucky. Despite heavily discounted sale prices, none found buyers during the auction, dubbed the "Liquidation Sensation."

Excerpt: "We're still putting the buyers and sellers together," he said. "We might not get a bid in 38 seconds, but you plant a seed in 38 seconds."

Excerpt: Davis, host of "The Real Deal" on the TLC network, said his auction helped generate interest in South Carolina real estate and create some much-needed momentum. Still, he likened the scene inside the hotel's ballroom to a school dance, where youngsters on either side of the room want to kick up their heels but no one is gutsy enough to make the first move. The three dozen auction attendees sparsely filled the neat rows of tables, though more prospective buyers watched the event online. Each paid about $500 to attend.

Article Title: Overwhelming Response: Trademark Properties Liquidation Sensation

Excerpt: a follow-up press release from Trademark Properties

Article Title: Group raising awareness about real estate auctions

Excerpt: Going twice Speaking of auctions, Trademark Properties' "Liquidation Sensation" campaign comes to a close Friday at the Gaillard Auditorium. As of late last week, the James Island real estate company had about 410 properties across the state signed up to be auctioned off in front of a select group of potential buyers. The properties' total value tops $150 million. In Charleston, about 46 properties, mostly single-family homes, are up for grabs. They range from luxurious beachfront properties on Seabrook Island, Edisto Island and the Isle of Palms to more modest homes on Daniel Island and in North Charleston. Many homes are newly built, offered by developers who overshot their inventory. Broker-in-charge Richard C. Davis, whose firm was profiled in the television show "Flip This House" and later "The Real Deal," said auctions are another "tool in the belt" for real estate agents. They are a good way to link up buyers and investors with property owners who are desperate to sell despite the slower real estate market.

Article Title: SC Economist's Homes Auctioned for $3.5M

Excerpt: A mansion, beach house and two other properties belonging to an economist who admitted defrauding hundreds of investors sold for about $3.5 million at an auction Tuesday.

Excerpt: There were no bargains, said Richard C. Davis, president of Trademark Properties, who attended but did not bid. "There's a ton of supply. There's a normal amount of demand," he said. "Real estate is a cycle and we're at the bottom of the cycle now."