What’s the latest on the lawsuit over the appraisal, sale of Primm Mall?

The lawsuit over the appraisals and sale of the troubled Primm Mall is still being hashed out but could be decided at trial.

The Primm Mall — formerly known as the Prizm Outlets — is at the heart of a lawsuit between two financial firms over the appraisals and sales of the mall in recent years.

Funds managed by billionaire Carl Icahn filed a lawsuit in 2022 against Miami-based Rialto Capital Advisors that alleged the firm manipulated appraisals on the Primm Mall to make it seem the mall was more valuable than it actually was and tried to reposition the mall instead of following a directive to sell it. Rialto foreclosed on the mall in 2018.

Icahn’s funds were investors in a pool of commercial mortgages that were tied to the Primm Mall, according to the lawsuit.

The complaint alleges that in April 2019 the Primm Mall was appraised for $28.8 million but the mall was ultimately sold in 2021 for only $400,000, after a $1.5 million bid for the mall fell through.

In a motion to dismiss the lawsuit, attorney’s for Rialto Capital said the complaint was “full of vitriol and reckless, inaccurate accusations,” and said Icahn’s funds didn’t have an ownership in the Primm Mall when it declined in value. This motion also said Rialto Capital’s decisions in relation to the Primm Mall were approved by third-party stakeholders in the mall.

Originally a non-jury trial to determine the lawsuit’s outcome was set for November but on Monday both sides filed for an extension of time to go through documents and evidence, which is likely to cause the trial to be pushed back.

Attorneys for Icahn declined to comment on the lawsuit while attorneys for Rialto didn’t respond to a request for comment.

Whatever happens at the trial won’t impact the operations of the Primm Mall since neither party owns the mall nor has a say in its operations. Court records indicate the mall was sold to Kohan Retail Investment Group in 2021.

The Primm Mall is mostly empty and will have only one store soon as the Michael Kors store is closing.

Contact Sean Hemmersmeier at shemmersmeier@reviewjournal.com. Follow @seanhemmers34 on X.