CONTINENTAL AVIATION SERV., INC. v. City of Naples Airport Authority

• Decision Date: 26 May 2004
• Docket Number: No. 2D02-5696.,2D02-5696.
• Citation: 873 So.2d 567
• Parties: CONTINENTAL AVIATION SERVICES, INC., and James P. Lennane, Appellants, v. CITY OF NAPLES AIRPORT AUTHORITY, Appellee.
• Court: Florida District Court of Appeals

873 So.2d 567

CONTINENTAL AVIATION SERVICES, INC., and James P. Lennane, Appellants, v. CITY OF NAPLES AIRPORT AUTHORITY, Appellee.

No. 2D02-5696.

District Court of Appeal of Florida, Second District.

May 26, 2004.

Robert E. Doyle, Jr., James T. Demarest, and David N. Arizmendi of Quarles & Brady LLP, Naples, for Appellants.

F. Joseph McMackin, III, and Peter J. Iacono of Bond, Schoeneck & King, P.A., Naples; Daniel S. Reimer of Kaplan Kirsch & Rockwell LLP, Denver, Colorado; Perry M. Rosen of Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP, Washington, DC; and Louis X. Amato of Louis X. Amato, P.A., Naples, for Appellee.

PER CURIAM.

Continental Aviation Services, Inc. (Continental), and James P. Lennane appeal a final summary judgment in favor of the City of Naples Airport Authority (NAA). With some reluctance, we conclude that Continental and Mr. Lennane were not entitled to the relief that they requested from the circuit court in this case. Accordingly, we affirm.

Continental runs a charter jet service from hangar facilities that it leases from the NAA. The lease, which Continental assumed from Provincetown-Boston Airline in 1993, is a long-term lease that does not expire until 2013. Along with Mr. Lennane, Continental also possesses a non-public aircraft fuel dispensing permit from the NAA. Continental's primary charter jet is a Gulfstream class aircraft, which is classified as a Stage 2 aircraft weighing less than 75,000 pounds for federal aviation noise standards under the Aviation Noise and Capacity Act of 1990. See 49 U.S.C. §§ 47524-47533 (2002).¹ On November 16, 2000, in an effort to implement the Aviation Noise and Capacity Act, the NAA passed and adopted Resolution No.2000-8, imposing a twenty-four-hour ban on operations by all Stage 2 aircraft weighing less than 75,000 pounds, effective January 1, 2001. Resolution 2001-4, however, deferred enforcement of the ban until July 21, 2001. After the effective date, Continental applied for and received several waivers, enabling it to continue to operate its Stage 2 aircraft. On May 23, 2002, however, the NAA denied Continental's request for an additional waiver.

Continental and Mr. Lennane filed this lawsuit in July 2002, seeking a permanent injunction prohibiting the NAA from enforcing the resolution that it had passed pursuant to federal law. They sought the injunction primarily on the theory that the resolution was an invalid zoning ordinance under state law. Their verified complaint also sought a declaration of rights under the hangar lease and fuel permit to establish that these contracts prevented enforcement of the resolution against them. The trial court entered summary judgment, declining to treat the resolution as a zoning ordinance and concluding that the resolution could not be overcome by the terms of the lease or fuel permit. We agree with the trial court.

Continental claimed that it could not realistically upgrade its Gulfstream aircraft to comply with the quieter Stage 3 standards. Thus, because Continental operates primarily Stage 2 aircraft, this new regulation will have a drastic impact on Continental's business. Continental argued that it is being singled out by this resolution and that the resolution is unreasonable. It further claimed that no comparable regulation is in effect at other airports in the United States and that its ability to engage in interstate commerce is limited by this single, local regulation, which...