3/5/14 Holmes County Airport Authority, former operator ordered to settle differences in impromptu mediation

  • By Nick Sabo
  • March 5, 2014
  • 368
                        
SUMMARY: Attorneys ordered to sit out mediation by common pleas judge Mediation won out over litigation in eviction proceedings against former Holmes County Airport operator, MAC Aviation. Appearing in court Feb. 28 on a hearing to stay eviction proceedings pending appeal, MAC Aviation and the Holmes County Airport Authority were instead sequestered at a Holmes County Common Pleas judge’s order until they could settle their differences. Attorneys were barred from the room. MAC and the Holmes County Airport Authority were in Common Pleas Judge Robert Rinfret’s courtroom Feb. 28 for a hearing to stay a ruling that ordered MAC’s eviction from the airport. MAC’s attorney, Mark Baserman, filed an appeal Feb. 26 in the Fifth District Court of Appeals on a Feb. 12 ruling by Judge Robert Rinfret. Rinfret’s ruling sided with the airport authority in a civil suit that sought MAC’s eviction and issued a writ of execution that ordered MAC to vacate the airport. Baserman asked that the eviction proceedings be stayed, pending appeal. Instead of ruling on Baserman’s motion, however, Rinfret corralled representatives of the airport authority and MAC Aviation into an available courtroom. Under orders from Rinfret, they were not leaving the courthouse until an agreement could be reached. When the doors closed, Baserman and attorney Grant Mason, representing the airport authority, were locked out. About two hours later, MAC Aviation owner David McFarland and airport authority president John Byler and boardmember Roc Baker had reached consensus on a number of issues. Rinfret was asked to rule on one point; whether MAC should given a key to the maintenance hangar. The civil suit dates back to September of 2013, when MAC still had about seven months left on a five year contract with the airport. MAC’s appeal came with less than two months left on the contract. In the mean time, the airport authority acted on the writ of execution and locked MAC out of the maintenance hangar, apparently without notice. MAC’s office equipment was removed and taken to another hangar. MAC has continued to do business out of the airport’s maintenance hangar since the suit was filed. McFarland is still working on an airplane, and has about 1,500 gallons of unsold airplane fuel sitting in the airport’s tanks. Being locked out of the maintenance hangar, McFarland said he could not get to his property or wrap up work. McFarland said he has a new job with another airport and will probably start there within the next two weeks. That left the problem of closing out his business at the airport, McFarland said. In sending the parties into mediation, Rinfret asked why the appeal was filed when MAC’s lease was up in April. “The appeal is a process that takes, what six to eight months?” Rinfret said. Expressing his opinion that the case was moving in the wrong direction, Rinfret decided to remove the attorneys from the proceedings and try mediation. In 10 issues settled in mediation, the airport authority agreed to reopen a cubicle at the office for MAC’s use. MAC’s tools can be stored in the maintenance hangar until they can be removed, and the airplane that MAC was servicing is to be removed within a week. The airport authority further agreed to purchase the fuel at the airport from MAC. The agreement sets a firm date of March 31 for MAC to complete the move out of the airport. On the issue of access to the maintenance hangar, Rinfret ruled that MAC will not get a key. Rinfret stipulated that the airport authority must make the hangar accessible to MAC, however. While MAC is at the airport, they will pay $450 for rent and use of the hangar. Rinfret said he was happy that MAC and the airport authority could sit down and work out their differences. “Regardless of how I ruled (on the motion to stay proceedings), your lease would have expired anyway,” Rinfret said. “I really appreciate...people getting together and agreeing.” MAC’s appeal is still on file, as of press time. Airport duties have been taken over by interim operator Professional Aviation.


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