Jim Camden- Staff writer

Managers of the River Park Square Mall are suing its developer for fraud, breach of contract and bad faith, claiming they haven't been adequately paid.

Bob Robideaux and RWR Management say they are going broke because the development companies headed by Betsy Cowles have reneged on promised raises and bonuses, and have not provided adequate legal protection against lawsuits connected to the mall.

The lawsuit also reveals that Robideaux's contract with the developer was going to be terminated next June.

Robideaux, his wife, Karen, and their company "have suffered substantial economic damages causing potential financial ruin and bankruptcy," says the lawsuit filed Thursday in Spokane County Superior Court. Robert Dunn, their attorney, estimated the damages at more than $2 million, although a final amount would be up to a jury if the case goes to trial.

Betsy Cowles said she could not comment on the specifics of the lawsuit, but called the allegations "completely without any basis." She insisted that Robideaux and his management company have been fully paid.

"His compensation is outlined in contracts and we have lived up to every speck of those contracts," Cowles said.

She called the lawsuit an "operational issue at the senior management level" which would have no noticeable effect on the mall, the garage or customers.

The mall belongs to development companies owned by Cowles Publishing Co., which also owns The Spokesman-Review.

The lawsuit says Robideaux signed an agreement in 1988 to begin managing River Park Square. Over time, the agreement grew to include the mall's garage, and later the renovation of the downtown shopping facility.

Robideaux coordinated the project construction and consulted with the mall's attorneys on dealings with the city of Spokane and other government agencies, the suit says.

The $110 million mall renovation involved a partnership with the city. The city obtained a loan guarantee from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and established a public development authority to oversee the garage, which was sold to a private foundation. Robideaux met regularly with city officials and, through October, attended the development authority's meetings to give monthly updates on the garage's performance.

To handle growing responsibilities with River Park Square, Robideaux devoted full time to that project and hired more staff, the lawsuit says. The company also signed a confidentiality agreement and an agreement not to compete with the mall, after being promised "full and fair" compensation, bonuses and expenses, it says.

Robideaux "successfully performed all duties and responsibilities required of them and more" the suit says, and in 2000 signed a management agreement through the middle of 2007.

But in recent weeks, Robideaux was advised the developers would exercise a termination clause in the contract and end the management agreement next June.

"We had served notice, trying to work out a smooth transition," Cowles said.

With the filing of the suit, Robideaux has been informed the company's management "will end almost immediately," Dunn said.

The company has only been partially paid, the lawsuit says. It has also been named in a federal securities fraud case over the mall's garage, which Robideaux's lawsuit says is "arising out of and directly related to (the developers') conduct and project."

Investors who purchased some $31 million in bonds sold to purchase the garage are suing the developers, the city, Robideaux and others for fraud in federal court. A federal magistrate is presiding over mediation efforts, which began in July.

Robideaux's lawsuit says the management company, which has separate legal representation for the federal case, has not been reimbursed for legal bills despite an agreement with developers to cover such costs.

Cowles said she did not expect the latest lawsuit to further complicate the mediation efforts in federal court. "That litigation is about other issues than who's running the mall," she said.