Jury rules against developer in $120M suit over Kings Plaza Shopping Center site

The New York Supreme Court in Kings County has ruled against developer Sun Plaza Enterprises in a $120 million lawsuit over a site next to Kings Plaza Shopping Center in the Midwood section of Brooklyn. Sun Plaza, which had planned to build a 160,000-square-foot building next to the shopping center but failed to obtain the $20 million construction loan, filed the suit 10 years ago after Crown Theaters, the defunct movie theater company owned by Chicago’s Crown family, backed out of its 20-year lease for a 14-screen theater at the site. Crown argued that Sun Plaza hadn’t kept up its end of the deal because the proposed building was never constructed. The jury ruled that Sun Plaza never proved that it had suffered financial damages because of Crown’s exit and dismissed all charges against Crown. Sun Plaza leased the space in 2005 to Lowe’s Home Improvement, which began construction on its store a few months ago. [Crain’s]