Mall owner pays $48 million in settlement: Struggling mall operator General Growth Properties, the parent company of the Mall of Louisiana, says today it will pay $48 million to settle a lawsuit related to a California mall joint venture. General Growth, the country’s second-largest mall owner, is saddled with huge amounts of debt it took on during the real estate market’s boom years when it aggressively bought up assets. In the February 2004 lawsuit, Caruso Affiliated Holdings was initially awarded $89.2 million in compensatory and punitive damages in December 2007. General Growth appealed the decision, which resulted in the settlement. As part of the settlement General Growth will also pay $5.5 million to its joint venture partner in GGP/Homart II.
Lending more than a hand: The Shaw Group announced one of its lenders is offering to extend $45 million under the company’s credit facility for another year. Shaw has just over $1 billion in commitments through the credit facility through April 25, 2010, and $874 million through April 25, 2011.
Come on over: More people were moving into Louisiana during 2008 than out of the state, according to a survey from United Van Lines. According to the report, based on nearly 199,000 interstate household moves, 54% of the moves involving Louisiana were going into the state. The District of Columbia was the top destination, with 62.1% of the moves going into the area, while Michigan was the top outbound state for the third year in a row.
