The Arundel Mills Mall in Hanover is apparently too close for comfort for the owners of the White Flint Mall, which recently won a key ruling from a federal court judge over a leasing deal with sports-themed tenant Dave & Buster’s Inc.
Judge Roger Titus, a U.S. District Judge in Greenbelt, has ruled that Dave & Buster’s violated a distance-based requirement in its lease with the mall’s owners back in 2006 when it opened another location at Arundel Mills. Titus, in his March 24 ruling, threw out several counts in Dave & Buster’s suit against White Flint.
Dave & Buster’s is one of two anchor tenants at White Flint that sued in federal court to block, or at least temporarily delay, the mall’s planned redevelopment into a town center. Lord & Taylor sued back in July but has since lost several rulings seeking to delay the redevelopment until its case plays out in the courts. Its case is also being heard by Titus.
In his ruling, Titus agreed the Dave & Buster’s in Arundel Mills was too close to its restaurant at White Flint and that the mall’s owners, principals of The Tower Cos. and Lerner Enterprises, gave Dave & Busters fair notice in September 2012. Dave & Busters did not respond within a 30-day window by taking steps to remedy the problem, and White Flint issued a lease termination notice in October 2012. Dave & Buster’s sued the mall’s owners back in November saying the planned redevelopment violates the terms of its lease with White Flint.
