Bigwig investor sues brokerage Panattoni Development for fraud and misrepresentation

Executive vice president of iStar and bigwig investor Barclay Jones is suing the brokerage, Panattoni Development, that arranged his purchase of the former Carl’s Furniture shopping center site across from the West Palm Beach mall on Palm Beach Lakes Boulevard near Interstate 95, according to the Palm Beach Post.

Jones paid $5 million for the site in the belief that Swedish furniture giant IKEA was moving into the Palm Beach mall across the way. Furniture locations, he thought, make a killing when clumped together. The IKEA deal later fell through as a result of the recession.

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In the lawsuit, Jones alleges that Panattoni and its executive, Partricia Blasi, falsely informed him of the IKEA move and that he received repeated assurances that it was a done deal. He would not have purchased the site had he been aware of the full story. The lawsuit does not mention whether Jones ever requested first-hand information from the mall’s owner.

Jones is seeking unspecified damages. [Palm Beach Post]