Jury awards $900K after real estate deal goes south

The potential buyer of a property in downtown Charleston has won a $900,000 jury verdict after the owner reneged on a deal to sell it, the plaintiff’s attorney reported.

Morgan Templeton of Wall, Templeton & Haldrup in Charleston reports that his client, Buck Investments, signed a contract in 2013 to buy a property on King Street for $3.5 million. The deal never materialized, however.

“They kicked the can down the road for a month and represented that they were going to make good on the sale,” Templeton said. “That never happened.”

It turned out that the purported seller, ROA LLC, was in no position to sell the property because it was in default on its mortgage, Templeton said.

Buck Investments filed a lawsuit to recover the costs for preparing for the failed closing and for loss of profits and revenue.

“In the real world, contracts are promises, and when they are broken, they have consequences,” Templeton said.

During the trial, the defense argued that it was that it could not close on the deal because of its financial condition, but Charleston County Circuit Court Craig Brown refused to allow the jury to consider that defense. The defense also contended that Buck Investments should have discovered through title searches that ROA owed the bank money on the property. ROA is appealing the verdict, Templeton said.

The jury returned its verdict July 25. Tommy Boger, also of Wall, Templeton & Haldrup in Charleston, also represented Buck Investments.

Will Jordan in Columbia of Robinson, Grey, Stepp & Laffitte in Columbia and Bill Hanna in Myrtle Beach represented ROA. They could not be reached for comment.

Follow Bill Cresenzo on Twitter @bcresenzosclw

VERDICT REPORT — BREACH OF CONTRACT

Amount: $900,000

Injuries alleged: Loss of profits and revenue, costs of preparing failed closing

Case name: Buck Investments v. ROA, LLC

Court: Charleston County Circuit Court

Case No.: 2016-CP-10-00507

Judge: Craig Brown

Date of verdict: July 25

Attorneys for plaintiff: Morgan Templeton and Tommy Boger of Wall, Templeton & Haldrup in Charleston

Attorneys for defendant: Will Jordan of Robinson, Grey, Stepp & Laffitte in Columbia and Bill Hanna in Myrtle Beach