OKLAHOMA CITY (KOKH) — Developers behind the upscale retail development OAK have filed a lawsuit in federal court against Simon Property Group, the owner of Penn Square Mall.

Lawyers for OAK claim the mall’s owner waged an “anticompetitive campaign” against them and tried to lure prospective tenants away from OAK.

SPG, which owns the mall, is one of the largest owners of shopping malls in the U.S.

According to the lawsuit, SPG used its power to “prevent prominent retail brands from opening stores at OAK, or, in some cases, from opening stores anywhere in Oklahoma City.”

Before opening OAK, developers began negotiating with prospective tenants like RH (Restoration Hardware), Arhaus, Alo, North Italia, Free People, and Free People Movement. High-end apparel retailers, like Alo, and restaurants, like North Italia, were important to the development.

The lawsuit alleges that SPG pressured the owners of North Italia not to open a store at OAK, despite having agreed to a letter of intent. In the lawsuit, lawyers state SPG properties represent 30% of CAKE’s (the owners of North Italia) portfolio of restaurant locations.

According to the lawsuit, in September 2025, CAKE notified OAK developers it could no longer work towards opening a North Italia restaurant at OAK, and instead was planning a location at Penn Square Mall.

“CAKE made clear in its communications with Plaintiffs’ representative that CAKE preferred OAK to Penn Square Mall but explained that it was impossible for CAKE to defy Defendants’ demands,” the lawsuit reads.

The loss of the restaurant as a tenant was “devastating” to Oak, the lawsuit alleges.

Lawyers for OAK also allege SPG interfered with negotiations between OAK and athleisure store Alo. The lawsuit says many of Alo’s retail locations are at properties owned by SPG, and they believe SPG is Alo’s largest landlord.

In December 2023, OAK began negotiations with Alo. The athleisure store agreed to a letter of intent to lease space in June 2024. Alo even authorized the design and creation of “coming soon” graphics to be displayed at OAK, according to the lawsuit.

By October 2024, a final draft lease was circulated. The lawsuit claims an Alo representative confirmed the “deal was effectively done” and just needed the Alo CEO’s signature.

The lawsuit alleges SPG’s CEO. David Simon, personally called Alo’s owner to pressure him into pulling out of opening a store at OAK and to instead open a location at Penn Square Mall.

Later on, Alo pulled the plug on an OAK location. According to the lawsuit, an Alo representative told OAK developers that Penn Square Mall performs worse than OAK across all the metrics the company uses to evaluate sites, and that opening a store at the mall “makes no sense.”

The lawsuit also claims the Alo rep said it was a common maneuver for SPG to intervene in a competitor’s contract negotiations.

OAK lawyers say the loss of Alo has made it more difficult to attract specialty retailers and has resulted in reduced foot traffic and revenue decreases.

The lawsuit claims three other unnamed retailers were lured away from opening at OAK by SPG.

According to the lawsuit, one retailer was told it needed to “come to Penn Square Mall or don’t come to Oklahoma at all.”

The lawsuit also alleges SPG tried to interfere with OAK’s relationship with Restoration Hardware, now known as RH, which did end up opening a location at OAK.

In 2010, the Federal Trade Commission alleged that SPG entered into monopolistic agreements in certain U.S. cities. SPG agreed to divest a property as a result.

SPG had previously reached a settlement in 2017 in New York after the Attorney General investigated them for anticompetitive tactics used to thwart the development of competing outlet centers in New York City.

In the lawsuit filed Tuesday, lawyers allege SPG has “persisted in using unlawful, anticompetitive tactics to attempt to ‘kneecap’ competitors.”