CBL sells malls for $53 million
CBL & Associates Properties Inc. announced Thursday it has closed on the sale of College Square in Morristown, Tenn., and Foothills Mall in Maryville, Tenn., for $53.5 million in cash.
Proceeds from the sale were used to reduce outstanding balances on the company’s lines of credit.
“The sale of these two malls successfully brings our portfolio transformation strategy, which we started in 2014, to a close, having executed on 20 transactions with a total value of nearly $800 million,” said Stephen Lebovitz, CBL’s president & chief executive officer. “Through this program, we now have a portfolio of higher-quality, higher growth assets that are positioned to benefit from the ongoing retail evolution.”
State sues MMi for TennCare fraud
Tennessee Attorney General Herbert H. Slatery III on Thursday filed a lawsuit against an organization of pain management clinics owned and operated by Michael Kestner and his business partner, Dr. Lisabeth Williams. Kestner is the primary owner of MMi, which operated at least 18 pain management clinics throughout Tennessee.
The civil action, filed in Williamson County Circuit Court, alleges millions of dollars in fraudulent claims to TennCare dating back to at least 2006.
MMi Pain Clinics and their providers purport to treat people suffering from chronic pain. According to the lawsuit, defendants conducted a fraudulent scheme that involved regularly subjecting patients to unnecessary medical procedures.
“These clinics put profit over patients,” Slatery said. “Even more disturbing than the millions of dollars in fraudulent claims to the State is their lack of compassion for those coming to them for treatment.”
Judge OKs settlement for VW 3-liter diesels
A federal judge in San Francisco has approved a $1.2 billion settlement with owners of 88,500 Volkswagens with 3-liter diesel engines rigged to cheat on emissions tests.
U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer gave the deal final approval during a hearing Thursday. The deal ends most of the litigation over VW’s cheating scandal, which became public in 2015. Owners of 3-liter models from 2009-2012 that can’t be fixed to meet pollution standards will be offered buybacks. They also will get compensation ranging from $7,755 to $13,880.
Those who own newer cars will get compensation of $7,039 to $16,114. If VW can’t fix the newer cars, then the owners’ attorneys can return to court to seek buybacks. That could push the value of the settlement to $4 billion.
VW previously agreed to spend up to $10 billion compensating owners of roughly 475,000 Volkswagens and Audi vehicles with 2-liter diesel engines – the bulk of the vehicles caught up in Volkswagen’s emissions cheating scandal.
“These agreements accomplish our goal of making the consumers harmed by Volkswagen’s emissions deception whole, while repairing or removing illegally polluting vehicles from our roads,” Elizabeth Cabraser, the plaintiffs’ lead attorney, said in a statement.