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Mall Wars XIII
City, mall developers say
their suit fits Westfield Fighting fire with fire.
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Business New Haven
8/21/2000
By: BNH
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Shell-shocked by the barrage of legal maneuvers that Westfield America Inc. had employed to stymie the proposed Long Wharf shopping mall, the city of New Haven and the would-be mall developers returned fire August 3 by announcing a lawsuit of their own.
Alleging violations of state antitrust and unfair-trade-practices statutes, the lawsuit seeks unspecified millions in compensatory and punitive damages.
The city of Milford, home to Westfield's Connecticut Post Mall, was also named a defendant in the legal action. In addition, Westfield owns and operates Trumbull Shopping Park and Meriden Square mall, both considered to be in the Long Wharf mall's “capture” area, along with Brass Mills Center in Waterbury and outlet centers in Westbrook and Clinton.
“We have the right to build this project free from the anti-competitive business practices of Westfield,” said Stephen R. Karp, chairman of New England Development (NED) of Newton, Mass., lead partner in the mall project.
“Westfield has used the environmental laws and regulatory processes of the state of Connecticut as a weapon with which they have sought to bludgeon this project at every turn.”
Attorneys for Westfield immediately characterized the suit as a baseless “publicity stunt” and its claims as “absolutely frivolous.”
Westfield has been party to a dozen lawsuits against the $500 million New Haven project, as well as numerous requests and complaints filed under the auspices of the Freedom of Information Act. The New Haven suit characterizes these actions as “harassment” and evidence of conspiracy to violate Connecticut antitrust laws.
Among the suit's claims are assertions that Westfield has “attempted to induce department stores that are committed to the [Long Wharf mall] to withdraw from the project.” Those stores include Nordstrom, Macy's, Lord & Taylor and Filene's.
NED President Steven Fischman asserted, however, that the department stores remain “tremendously committed to this market.”
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