Suit alleges Supervalu sandbagged Wal-Mart

Two Illinois real estate developers accused Supervalu of using "dirty tricks" to undermine development of two Wal-Mart Supercenters, according to a lawsuit in federal court in Chicago.

The suit filed Wednesday alleges that Supervalu secretly retained consulting firm Saint Consulting Group to drum up opposition to two planned Wal-Mart Supercenters in suburban Chicago. Massachusetts-based Saint's website says it "specializes in winning zoning and land-use battles."

Eden Prairie-based Supervalu, which owns the Chicago area's dominant grocery chain, Jewel, declined to comment.

In the suit, which includes Saint as a defendant, Rubloff Development Group and McVickers Development allege that Supervalu hired Saint to "harass and interfere" with their projects because Wal-Mart stores are "a chief competitor" of Jewel.

Wal-Mart is the country's largest supermarket chain, and its low-price model has been eating away at the business of conventional grocery companies like Supervalu. But the Arkansas-based retailer sometimes faces opposition from labor unions and community activists when it develops one of its Supercenters, which include full-scale grocery stores.

In the Chicago suburbs Mundelein and New Lenox, Wal-Mart-anchored developments were delayed by objections "that ostensibly were advanced by residents," the suit said. But materials and documents obtained by Rubloff and McVickers show the opposition was actually incited by Supervalu and Saint Consulting, the suit alleges.

Saint Consulting declined to comment.

A Saint employee set out to delay development of the Mundelein Wal-Mart, first by sending flyers to residents near the proposed development outlining potential problems with the project, including increased police calls and more traffic, the Journal reported.

Then the Saint employee allegedly arranged for a lawyer to represent neighbors who opposed the development, a lawyer who eventually filed suit on behalf of four residents who lived next to the proposed Wal-Mart, the Journal reported. The suit lingered in court for more than two years.

As a result of delays allegedly caused by Supervalu and Saint, Rubloff lost binding leases with several other tenants, the suit claims. McVickers claims 10 companies pulled out of its planned development in New Lenox after similar delays involving a Wal-Mart slated for that project.

The plaintiffs say they have numerous legal claims to make against Supervalu and Saint, including racketeering, antitrust and fraud, the suit said.

The real estate companies claim they've lost "tens of millions" of dollars because of the delays.