Village Tenants Sue Segerstroms

A group of present and former tenants of South Coast Village sued the managing partners of C.J. Segerstrom & Sons, claiming that the developers and operators of South Coast Plaza defrauded them and caused them to lose money.

The lawsuit, filed Friday in Orange County Superior Court in Santa Ana, asks for an unstated amount of damages. The defendants include Henry Segerstrom and his cousin, Harold T. Segerstrom Jr., co-managing partners of C.J. Segerstrom & Sons, and Henry’s mother, Nellie Ruth Segerstrom, who is a partner. Also sued was Harold T. Segerstrom Sr., whom company spokeswoman Maura Eggan identified as the deceased father of Harold Jr.

Eggan, declined comment on the suit.

The action stems from retailers’ long-standing complaints that the developers did not fully promote South Coast Village, the 130,000-square-foot center across the street from South Coast Plaza. Instead of using their “best efforts� to promote the small center, the lawsuit states, the defendants “fraudulently� and “maliciously� intended to limit its uses “for other than a . . . retail shopping area.�

The plaintiffs contend that the company’s failure to promote the smaller mall caused tenants to move and patronage to drop, resulting in lost income and their emotional distress.