Milwaukee firm to acquire Northridge Mall, current owners found in contempt of court.

• Author: Duran, Ethan
• Position: Phoenix Investors, Black Spruce Enterprise

Byline: Steve Schuster, sschuster@dailyreporter.com

By Ethan Duran

and Steve Schuster

eduran@dailyreporter.com and sschuster@dailyreporter.com

Milwaukee-based Phoenix Investors submitted a purchase agreement Friday to buy the former Northridge Mall from China-based Black Spruce Enterprise just hours before a Milwaukee County Circuit Court hearing.

The Chinese company, which had plans to turn the mall into Asian marketplace, was held in contempt of court yet again Friday.

Milwaukee County Circuit Court Judge William Sosnay was not impressed Friday when three principals from Black Spruce yet again failed to show up in his Milwaukee courtroom.

"It's ironic this was scheduled on St. Patrick's Day, because you've raised my Irish," the judge said to attorneys from both the city and Black Spruce.

Odalo Ohiku, an attorney for the city of Milwaukee, said the unexpected news was a classic "delay tactic." Friday's hearing was for the city's request to take over ownership of the former mall.

Judge Sosnay found the three directors in contempt of the court and fined them $1,000 per day, on top of previous contempt fines, for previously failing to appear in court.

Previously, Milwaukee County Circuit Court Judge William Pocan had ruled against Black Spruce in a 2020 trial, but the Chinese company appealed.

The Wisconsin Appeals Court then sent the case back to the trial court. On Dec. 15, 2021, President Joe Biden nominated Pocan to serve as a United States District judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin, so Sosnay took over the case.

The city of Milwaukee and Black Spruce have been in litigation for years and the owners of the Chinese company have now racked up hundreds of thousands of dollars in unpaid fines, according to court officials.

Attorney Mark Foley, who was representing Phoenix Investments, asked the judge to adjourn court for 45 days to perform due diligence and said his client would secure the property and perform landscape work. The attorney also asked for a 10-day closing period.

Foley works for von Briesen & Roper, which represented and then sued Black Spruce in the past for nonpayment. The judge said the history between the two parties could be a conflict of interest.

Judge Sosnay said the investors' plans didn't address the city's raze order or previous liens given to Black Spruce.

The mall would be "renovated and not torn down," under Phoenix Investments' plans, Foley said.

"If (Phoenix...