Located in South McAllen, La Plaza Mall, is one of Simon Property Group’s highest-grossing malls thanks to its binational customer base. And now, several designer brands are investing millions to open new stores in 2026.
Dina Arévalo
What started as a lawsuit for nonpayment of rent has now morphed into a countersuit alleging that one of the busiest shopping centers in South Texas is infested with rodents, plagued by drains overflowing with sewer water and has a leaky roof.
Rossina, a Rio Grande Valley-based coffee shop with locations in McAllen and Edinburg, claims it was forced to end its lease at La Plaza Mall in South McAllen years early after the mall allegedly ignored numerous pleas to resolve a “mall-wide rodent infestation.”
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The allegations came to light after La Plaza Mall’s parent company, Simon Property Group, filed a lawsuit in late June alleging breach of contract and nonpayment of rent. Simon is suing for between $250,000 and $1 million in unpaid rent since Rossina stopped paying in early March, as well as a share of gross profits the cafe was obligated to pay under its five-year lease agreement, according to a July 7 amended complaint. Simon Property Group is the largest shopping mall company in the United States and reported nearly $6.37 billion in revenues last year.
Located in South McAllen, La Plaza Mall, is one of Simon Property Group’s highest-grossing malls thanks to its binational customer base. And now, several designer brands are investing millions to open new stores in 2026.
Dina Arévalo
But in court filings, Rossina argues it only stopped paying rent and vacated the kiosk after the mall failed to resolve sanitation issues that threatened the cafe’s bottom line. In a countersuit, Rossina is seeking between $250,000 and $1 million in damages from lost sales, damaged inventory, and for costs incurred in trying to clean up the allegedly unsanitary conditions around its kiosk. The cafe is also seeking a declaratory judgment stating it was within its rights to terminate the lease for “material breaches.”
“I was a little surprised that they sued for nonpayment, given the history there. But they left us with no choice,” Rossina’s attorney, Simran W. Singh, told MySA on Tuesday, August 18.
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Rossina signed a five-year lease with La Plaza Mall in December 2023, but didn’t begin operations until June 2024. On January 8 of this year, Rossina sent the mall the first of several written notices about “sewer backflows, water instructions, electrical problems, (and) rodent activity and infestation.”
On February 13, an attorney for Simon Property Group replied, largely denying the cafe’s claims and arguing that Rossina was to blame for things like allegedly damaging the plumbing when the cafe tapped into the mall’s water line, or installing equipment that “exceeded the existing electrical capacity.” Simon also said its contracted pest control company, which “performs bimonthly pest control services,” had found no evidence that Rossina had taken any steps to mitigate pests itself.
“All food court tenants… must keep a regular pest control treatment schedule every two weeks to keep their spaces free of pests,” the response reads.
Located in South McAllen, La Plaza Mall, is one of Simon Property Group’s highest-grossing malls thanks to its binational customer base. And now, several designer brands are investing millions to open new stores in 2026.
Dina Arévalo
But Singh scoffed at that, saying his client’s kiosk was located in the middle of the food court, far from entrances or external walls where rodents could enter the building. Simon’s attorney did not return a call from MySA by the time of publication.
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The following month, Rossina hired two pest control companies to conduct independent inspections. Both said they found “significant evidence” of rodent infestation inside and outside the mall, including rodents caught on glue traps and droppings in “hard-to-reach areas.” As part of its response to Simon’s lawsuit, Rossina included 66 pages worth of photographs showing rodents caught in traps, droppings on floors, and improperly sealed infrastructure, such as holes in walls and missing ceiling tiles. One photograph shows a live mouse standing by what appears to be a refrigerator.
“IMMEDIATE ACTION REQUIRED,” one of the pest control companies wrote in its report in all-caps while also noting evidence of rodents in five other “establishments” at the mall.