Walmart, Sam's Club sue Pittsburgh Mills mall owners over road conditions

Real estate trusts for Walmart and Sam’s Club are suing the owners of the beleaguered Pittsburgh Mills mall in Frazer, alleging they have failed to maintain the roads there despite being contractually obligated to do so.

The lawsuit, filed Wednesday in U.S. District Court of Western Pennsylvania, asks the court to find defendants Pitt Galleria Realty, Pitt Realty, Pitt Galleria CH and Pitt Galleria Nassim — commonly known as Namdar Realty Group — in breach of their contract, and require them to repair the roads at the mall complex.

It also seeks the court to award them damages of more than $229,700 and any further relief it deems just and reasonable.

Namdar officials didn’t respond to a request for comment Wednesday evening.

Walmart and Sam’s claim in the lawsuit that the roads in the mall complex — including Village Center Drive, which goes from Pittsburgh Mills Boulevard back to their stores — are in need of more than $5 million in repairs.

According to the lawsuit, a 2004 declaration required the defendants, as current mall owners, to maintain the common areas of the Mills complex, including the roads.

But over the past several years, the roads at the Mills “have not been maintained in a good and safe state of repair,” the lawsuit states.

“The current state of the roadways presents dangerous and trying driving conditions for plaintiffs and their vendors, supplies and customers,” the lawsuit claims.

Although Walmart and Sam’s provided “multiple notices” to the mall owners of the roadways’ poor and failing condition, they remain in disrepair, the lawsuit states.

To date, the lawsuit states, Walmart and Sam’s have not received the benefits of their rights under the declaration — maintenance of the roadways — and suffered monetary damages more than $229,740.

That’s not including other damages Walmart and Sam’s believe they’ve suffered, the lawsuit claims, like their vendors and suppliers refusing delivery, and customers avoiding Pittsburgh Mills stores because of the condition of the roads.

The lawsuit also alleges the mall owners improperly assessed fees for common area maintenance from Walmart and Sam’s Club.

Lawsuit just the latest action taken

Wednesday’s lawsuit is the latest in the legal drama surrounding the embattled Mills complex.

Frazer’s building inspector, over the past several days, has issued dozens of citations against the mall owners, for violations including numerous potholes, high grass and inoperable doors at the mall building.

The Allegheny County District Attorney’s Office in April charged the mall owners with creating a public nuisance.

And last year, Frazer filed suit alleging Namdar’s negligence contributing to the roads’ condition.

In 2023, Frazer initiated a sheriff’s sale on the mall property, due to Namdar owing $11.5 million in special assessment taxes. Namdar paid the delinquent debt before the sheriff’s sale happened.

The mall was built in 2005.