Mall giant Westfield NZ is threatening to go to the Supreme Court to appeal a decision to allow a new factory retail mega-centre to be given the go-ahead on the North Shore after a drawn-out legal wrangle.
Westfield NZ chief John Widdup, who opposed Josephine Grierson's DiscountBrands centre at Northcote, said he was surprised by a Court of Appeal decision released this week and would be considering further court action.
"We thought we had a very good case and we'll have to look into this," Mr Widdup said.
He had not expected the finding to go against his company.
Westfield was "assessing the basis of the judgement and had the opportunity to seek leave to appeal to the Supreme Court," he said, a threat that could throw her project into further jeopardy.
Developer Josephine Grierson this week won the battle against Westfield to open her 57-shop centre in the former Palmers Garden Centre on Akoranga Dr at Northcote, a derelict large-format store which has been empty for many years.
But Westfield - the world's largest listed retail group which owns 11 malls in New Zealand and manages property worth $32 billion worldwide - tried to stop her by court action.
In the midst of the legal tussle, Josephine Grierson leased three-quarters of the stores which will sell seconds, surplus and out-of-season goods marked down by 35 per cent, including clothing, household items, books, footwear, jewellery and music.
The development was also opposed by the Dressmart chain which has stores at Onehunga, Wellington and Christchurch. Westfield owns and manages malls at Glenfield and Takapuna and plans to build New Zealand's largest mall at Albany.
Westfield won in the High Court at Auckland earlier this year, but Josephine Grierson's victory in the Court of Appeal this week allows her to continue and she plans to open by September.
