Brent Schrotenboer of the SAN DIEGO UNION-TRIBUNE reports today that San Diego Chargers linebacker Shawne Merriman, currently a holdout from training camp, is suing a company owned by former Duke basketball players Christian Laettner and Brian Davis for $3.64 million - and $998.76 per day in interest.

The litigation stems from a loan Merriman and his company, S.M. Real Estate, provided to Laettner and Davis’ real estate development company, BD Ventures.

Merriman originally sued BD Ventures in federal court in April, 2009, noting that the loan had not been repaid in full.  On Monday, Merriman filed an affidavit in Maryland  requesting that a judge “make a summary judgment in his favor.”

As part of the affidavit,  Merriman wants a piece of Laettner and Davis’ real estate and business ventures: Read more…

Ever wonder how, exactly, someone who makes tens of millions of dollars over the course of a medium-to-long pro sports career can find himself in financial ruin? Welcome to Exhibit 72,962, The Bad Investment. The stars of this episode? Former Duke basketball players Christian Laettner and Brian Davis. Oh, and for some reason, Shawne Merriman.

(With all due respect, Mr. Merriman, a Maryland alumnus really ought to know better than to trust a Dookie.)

Davis and Laettner, owners of Blue Devil Ventures, were up-and-comers in the real estate market, having successfully completed an urban redevelopment project in Durham at the beginning of the decade. Buoyed by their initial success and ability to turn a profit in the early-oughts real estate market (this is where your internal disaster alarm should be going off), the two planned a massive “second phase” in Durham while simultaneously investing in similar restoration projects across America, even trying to take on the biggest blight available: the Memphis Grizzlies.

Read more…