Class-action suit filed against Madison mall owner

CBL & Associates, the company that owns both East and West Towne Malls in Madison, is facing a 21-state class-action lawsuit charging that CBL small business tenants have been victims of a “criminal enterprise” and the mall owner knowingly overcharged its tenants for electricity costs for years.

According to a MarketWatch story, the lawsuit details alleged racketeering and a conspiracy between CBL and Valquest, a company CBL hired to prepare estimates for tenant electricity usage. Some tenants were overcharged for electricity by as much as 100 percent, the suit alleges.

The trial begins April 1 in Fort Myers, Florida.