Trademark Props. Inc. v. A & E Television Networks
United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit
422 Fed.Appx. 199 (2011)
Davis (plaintiff) pitched his house-flipping reality show concept to A & E's Norlander (defendant), proposing to handle property transactions in exchange for splitting show revenues, to which Norlander responded "Okay, okay, I get it"; the parties produced thirteen successful episodes without ever reducing the arrangement to writing, and after they couldn't agree on Davis's compensation, A & E produced three more seasons without him and paid him nothing, leading Davis to sue for $7.5 million, with a jury awarding him $4 million and the district court denying A & E's post-trial motions.
Whether the party seeking to enforce an oral contract must prove that the parties intended to be bound without a written agreement.