Westfield Southgate drops suit against Benderson Development, Dillard’s

After more than a year and a half from the filing date, Westfield Southgate mall in Sarasota dropped a suit against Benderson Development Co. and Dillard’s Inc.

The release of the suit means Westfield Southgate now has a clearer path for redeveloping the mall, as it originally intended, according to lawsuit documents. Westfield Southgate sued Benderson and Dillard’s for breach of contract, among other charges, related to the redevelopment plans at Westfield Southgate.

A judge later determined only two of the eight counts, breach of contract and breach of the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing, were legally sufficient. Both Dillard’s and Benderson made motions for dismissal from the time the suit was filed in August 2014.

Benderson bought the Dillard’s property for $10 million in October 2014.

According to lawsuit documents, Westfield Southgate began planning for the mall’s redevelopment in concert with Dillard’s in 2007. Redevelopment plans required Westfield Southgate and Dillard’s to collaborate on several measures before proceeding: “reach mutually agreeable terms for the Expansion, obtain necessary rezoning and development approvals from the city of Sarasota and obtain the consent of Macy’s, another anchor tenant in the Mall.” The lawsuit alleges Dillard’s cooperated with Southgate to obtain zoning approvals for the expansion and provided other assurances in support of the redevelopment plans.

In April 2014, Dillard’s withdrew its consent for the redevelopment plans, including renovation of its own store. Dillard’s revealed plans to open a clearance store at Southgate, but according to the mall’s agreement, no such stores are allowed in order to “maintain a first-class retail department store at the Mall.”

“Dillard’s plan to replace its department store at the Mall (Westfield Southgate) with a clearance store and/or sell the store to the developer of UTC is intended to damage the Mall,” the complaint reads. “Dillard’s actions were undertaken in bad faith, are improper and unlawful, and will cause Southgate significant harm.”

Representatives for neither Westfield Southgate nor Benderson Development provided comment on future plans for Westfield Southgate and the Dillard’s space on Tuesday.

This story was originally published May 31, 2016 at 4:52 PM with the headline "Westfield Southgate drops suit against Benderson Development, Dillard’s."