Witness denies any 50/50 deal

No such 'Flip This House' conversation ever took place, Norlander tells jury

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.

Norlander described key differences between "Flip This House" and the series Davis originally proposed to him, which included spending $100 million over a year buying and renovating property and featured a host. Norlander testified that those elements were turnoffs in the proposal but that Davis and other members of his Trademark Properties crew have personalities that "pop on the screen" and could carry a show.

"To this day, I think he's the only person who's flown up in his own helicopter to meet me," Norlander said. He testified that he and Davis became so chummy that Davis offered to fly Norlander and his adoptive daughter over the Mount Pleasant hospital where she was born.

Norlander testified that, though he no longer worked for A&E when Davis began threatening to pull out of the show, he encouraged Davis to resolve his differences with the network before it replaced him. He added that he did not know what, specifically, was bothering Davis.

"In terms of what he was looking for, I had no better idea at the end of that conversation than I had at the beginning of it," Norlander said.

He testified that he never heard of the 50/50 split until he learned Davis filed a lawsuit.

"It's really hurts when someone you consider a friend makes those kinds of allegations against you," Norlander said. Then adding his professional reaction, he said, "Nothing like this (50/50 deal) exists in the business."

Upon cross-examination, Davis' attorney Frank Cisa focused on the fact that Norlander, a consultant with A&E and not a full-fledged employee, never asked Davis what he wanted from "Flip This House." Cisa also pointed out that Davis, in an e-mail, had been the one to suggest focusing more on personalities than process.

During Cisa's questioning, Norlander testified that A&E was already working on developing a show similar to "Flip This House" before Davis approached the network.

A series of defense witnesses followed Norlander, nearly all making the same point: that Davis never said anything about a profit-sharing deal, and neither did they.

Max Weissman of Departure Films, the third-party production company which still makes "Flip This House," testified that he suggested Davis ask for compensation from A&E.

"He kept saying he wasn't interested, that it was small potatoes," Weissman said.

But Weissman also testified that Davis wanted to see Departure Films' contract with A&E, which held a confidentiality clause Weissman was unwilling to breach.

The defense produced e-mails sent from Davis to Weissman in which Davis complained about episodes in which other people seem to steal the show. In one e-mail, Davis griped that a contractor who is "awesome as a court jester" had been portrayed as a "serious business guy," making it seem like "any nimrod" could do Davis' job.

In an e-mail about another episode, Davis wrote, "I really have no patience for one episode making it look like one person's expertise is welcome or influential in another segment, except me, of course."

Asked whether Davis had a profit-sharing deal with A&E, Weissman replied, "He complained endlessly that he didn't."

During cross-examination, Cisa pointed out that Weissman spent no time on location in South Carolina during production of "Flip This House" and that Departure Films grew exponentially because of the series.

Cisa suggested that Weissman, now in the midst of producing the fourth season of "Flip This House," learned everything he knows about real estate from Davis.

In court documents, A&E has disclosed that the show generated about $13.7 million in revenue and $5.9 million in expenses its first season.

Davis has testified he was never paid for his efforts toward "Flip This House," which often demanded 80 hours of his time per week. He also was never reimbursed for an estimated $92,000 in expenses, he said.

Reach Allyson Bird at abird@postandcourier.com or 937-5594.

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