Fashion Mall renovator moves to boot minority owner

The Chinese majority owner of a company planning a $300 million Fashion Mall makeover in Plantation is back in court trying to dump the minority owner , who is also project manager on the renovation.

Attorneys for Zhen Zeng Du asked Broward Circuit Judge Jack Tuter to dissolve a Mapuche LLC and allow his son to replace minority partner Wei Chen as project manager, according to the Daily Business Review.

Du alleges that his partner in the Fashion Mall renovation lost some $50 million in project funding by trading on the Australian stock market.

Chen’s attorney, Benjamin Olive of Hackleman Olive & Judd in Fort Lauderdale, argued that Du relied on the third amended agreement when he sued Chen first in federal court. The agreement contains a “judicial dissolution waiver,” meaning a court cannot dissolve the company.

In May, U.S. District Judge James Cohn in Fort Lauderdale dismissed the case for lack of jurisdiction because one party is Chinese and the other a U.S. citizen. [Daily Business Review] – Christopher Cameron