(FeaturedNews.com) – A shopping center in San Francisco faces legal action for its alleged neglect, which has reportedly compromised the safety of American Eagle staff due to threats like “gun-related incidents, physical attacks, thefts, and break-ins,” as per a recent article.
This lawsuit was highlighted by the San Francisco Business Times, which details the grievance of AE Retail West LLC, the parent company of American Eagle, against the Westfield shopping center.
San Francisco Chronicle mentions, “From May 2020 to May 2023, there were over 100 notable security breaches at the American Eagle outlet. There were instances when visitors flashed guns and verbally threatened the staff.”
AE Retail West LLC emphasized in their lawsuit lodged on Monday in San Francisco Superior Court: “Westfield must be held liable for the aftermath of its shortcomings and unfulfilled assurances,” as chronicled by the San Francisco Chronicle.
Fox News Digital reported that Westfield mall did not offer any remarks when approached.
Westfield, a major mall conglomerate with presences in places like New York City’s World Trade Center and New Jersey, informed FOX Business in June about discontinuing repayments on a loan of $558 million for the San Francisco Centre property.
The company stated, “Having served the San Francisco Centre commendably for over two decades, making substantial investments during this period, the evolving challenges in downtown San Francisco, leading to reduced sales, occupancy, and visitors, have pushed us to transfer the property’s management to our creditor for future operations.”
This situation underscores a growing trend of well-known businesses reducing or completely withdrawing their operations from San Francisco, attributed by some critics to a vicious cycle of escalating crime adversely impacting businesses.
This news follows another announcement from Park Hotels & Resorts about their decision to return two significant hotel properties to their lenders, attributing this to safety concerns in the city and uncertainty regarding the region’s comeback potential.
A representative from AEO Inc. clarified that they refrain from commenting on active legal matters.
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