American Dream sued again by a customer allegedly injured by motorized stuffed animal

A second patron at American Dream in East Rutherford is suing the mall over allegations they were struck by a motorized stuffed animal and seriously injured.

You may have seen those large motorized stuffed animals that kids and parents ride through some parts of the mall. They include plushy zebras, elephants, tigers and hippos.

Previously, an elderly woman sued the mall in March , alleging she was struck and seriously injured by one of the animals in January.

Representatives at American Dream and Dream Riders did not respond to multiple requests for comment by email.

Dream Riders says on its website that it is the "largest provider of plush motorized animal ride-ons that are specifically designed to be a safe, comfortable, and fun entertainment option for kids and families."

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Dream Riders also has a fleet of animal ride-ons at the Mall of America in Minnesota and the West Edmonton Mall in Canada.

The mammoth American Dream entertainment complex, operated by Canadian developer Triple Five, has an indoor ski slope , sports events , a 300-foot Ferris wheel with dramatic views of Manhattan, an ice-skating rink, an amusement park and a water park, among other attractions.

This lawsuit marks the latest legal trouble for the 3.5 million square foot retail and entertainment complex in the Meadowlands, which is subsidized by over $1 billion in state and local taxpayer dollars.

Those legal woes range from a broken leg to slip-and-falls, knocked-out teeth, unpaid construction bills and defaults on a multimillion-dollar loan.

The mall saw its opening delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic , as well as construction delays, a fire that closed down the ski slope and a decorative helicopter crash that briefly closed down the indoor water park last year.

Financial losses at the mall meanwhile quadrupled between 2021 and 2022, according to securities filings from last September.

And the mall has also faced a slew of unpaid bills, including over $13 million that mayors in towns surrounding the mall say are owed to them.

The mall’s owners — according to the mayors - have argued that since the mall is not 100% leased, it’s not technically fully opened and therefore not on the hook for the money. American Dream’s hometown of East Rutherford is suing the mall to fork over nearly $8 million of the money.

What the suits say

In the March suit, New York resident Trinidad Javier alleges that she was struck by one of the motorized stuffed animals and suffered injuries to her spine, having to undergo surgery.

Dream Riders filed a motion earlier this month denying the allegations and seeking to dismiss Javier's legal claim, according to court records.

In the more recent suit, which was filed on July 19, West New York resident Andrew Ruggiero alleges that he was hit on Aug. 10, 2022 by one of the motorized animals as it was being ridden by an unsupervised child.

Ruggiero was “severely and permanently injured” following the incident, the suit says, and now suffers a disability and loss of employment, and will continue to incur medical expenses from the incident.

Both suits allege that the mall, its owners and Dream Riders operated this ride in an area meant for pedestrians and mall patrons.

“They can travel faster than somebody can walk,” Javier’s attorney, Mark A. Apostolos, from the Hackensack law firm Sullivan Papain Block McManus Coffinas & Cannavo, said in March.

“It’s their responsibility to make sure that when people walk into the mall, they’re provided a safe place to walk,” Apostolos said. “So it’s up to them if they want to make it safe or not.”

Cory Anne Cassidy — the attorney for Ruggiero — said in an email that the motorized animals are “a hazard to pedestrians and patrons throughout the mall.”

Daniel Munoz covers business, consumer affairs, labor and the economy for NorthJersey.com and The Record.

Email: munozd@northjersey.com ; Twitter: @danielmunoz100 and Facebook

This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: American Dream sued again by a customer allegedly injured by motorized stuffed animal