Oakwood, Florida—When Willowbrook, the world’s largest mall, closes for good, the mall’s namesake will still be there.
But Oakwood mall’s owner is already taking some of the blame for the closures, which were sparked by a lawsuit by two disgruntled employees.
The lawsuit alleges that Oakwood’s owners, Oakridge Group LLC, did not tell workers about a proposed plan to replace the mall with a mall in the adjacent Woodland Hills neighborhood.
The mall’s management, which includes several former employees of the mall, has been trying to convince the town of Oakwood to open the mall as soon as possible.
The mall’s owners are suing the town over the lawsuits, alleging the town “failed to warn its workers and investors about Oakwood” and that it failed to follow its own “promise to restore Oakwood as a fully functioning mall.”
“Oakwood mall management has shown itself to be incompetent, dishonest, and deceitful,” Oakridge’s lawsuit alleges.
The Oakridge lawsuit alleges the mall was not able to find the needed funds for a new mall because of “continued fiscal distress caused by the litigation.”
Oakridge’s board of directors has said it expects the mall to reopen by the end of the year.