FORT LAUDERDALE, FL—In a much-anticipated decision, Judge John K. Olson of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court of the Southern District of Florida has ruled on the auction sale of the Plantation Fashion Mall. His decision: sale of the 32-acre site on University Drive can move forward at the bankruptcy trustee's request.

What's more, Olson denied a motion from Tangshan Ganglu Iron & Steel's, the mall's majority owner, to covert the Chapter 7 case to a Chapter 11 reorganization. Kenneth A. Welt, the trustee overseeing the shuttered mall, has obtained a “stalking horse” buyer, Ram Realty, for the property for $24 million, which will be subject to higher and better offers at auction. Essentially, the judge also approved the trustee's auction procedures and the sale to Ram Realty or to the highest and best bidder after an auction.

Attorney Glenn Moses, counsel for the trustee and partner at Genovese Joblove & Battista, tells GlobeSt.com he applauds Olson's decision. That, he says, is because the Trustee, as a fiduciary to all of the constituents in the case, believes that the best way to maximize the value of the Fashion Mall property is to sell it through open and competitive market conditions.