American Eagle Outfitters’ legal woes with shopping centers continue, as the retailer engages in a back-and-forth with a Charlotte, North Carolina, shopping mall.
The Spinoso Real Estate Group, which owns Northlake Mall in Charlotte, filed a lawsuit against American Eagle on Sept. 5, claiming the retailer’s store there broke its lease by closing its doors earlier this spring and not paying the monthly $12,500 in rent in April. The suit, which was filed in U.S. District Court for the Western District of North Carolina, Charlotte Division, alleges that Spinoso has lost $75,000 as of the filing due to non-payment and wants American Eagle to pick up the tab.
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In response, American Eagle filed a counterclaim against Spinoso on Sept. 12, stating that the landlord “allowed the shopping center—Northlake Mall—to deteriorate into an atmosphere reminiscent of a war zone, replete with violent criminals, multiple shootings, terrorized tenants and customers, and diminished business.”
American Eagle pointed to multiple shootings in 2021, 2022 and in February of this year at the mall as the impetus behind its decision to leave Northlake. The company also cited other businesses, such as Apple and Michael Kors, that also have pulled out of the shopping center this year.
In August 2021, Spinoso enacted a youth supervision policy in an effort to tamp down crime at Northlake. The rule requires visitors aged 17 and younger to be accompanied by an adult aged 21 or older after 3 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays. American Eagle alleges the policy has diminished its sales at the shopping mall since much of its customer base consists of teenagers.
A court date hasn’t been named yet, but American Eagle’s counterclaim requested a trial by jury.
Northlake isn’t the only mall embroiled in litigation with American Eagle. The retailer also filed a lawsuit against real estate firm Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield earlier this month, alleging its neglect of San Francisco’s Westfield Centre has led to an increase in crime at the mall.
“American Eagle believed it was leasing a prime retail space with a street-front entrance in downtown San Francisco from one of the most established and reputable retail landlords in the country,” the complaint said. “But Westfield let the mall deteriorate into disarray, leaving American Eagle and its employees to suffer and respond to gun violence, physical assaults, burglaries, and robberies.”
