The irony in the following post cannot escape the attention of most lawyers as the issue centers on the applicability of sovereign immunity to the Bluegrass Airport over claims of negligence with the fighting between two insurance defense lawyers. I caught part of these arguements via Supreme Court LIVE webcasting but 2/3's the way through it got tied up and froze in a permanent hiccup on my meager DSL connection. For what it is worth, I tried to record it to no avail.
Here is a link to my arguments post with the time of the argument and issues, plus links to the briefs filed and available at the Salmon P. Chase School of Law at NKU.
11:00 a.m. COMAIR, INC., ET AL. V. LEXINGTON-FAYETTE URBAN COUNTY AIRPORT CORPORATION, ET AL. (2007-SC-602-TG)
"Challenge to the sovereign immunity of the Airport Defendants."
Fayette Circuit Court, Judge James D. Ishmael, Jr.
For Appellants: Ronald L. Green, Raymond G. smith, Edward H. Stopher and Jeffrey Wayne Adamson
For Appellees: Kevin G. Henry
- Appellant's Brief
- Appellee's Brief
- Appellant's Reply Brief
Here's the story at the Herald Leader by Stephanie Steitzer:
FRANKFORT, Ky. -- The Kentucky Supreme Court heard arguments yesterday in a case that stems from the Comair crash in Lexington and raises the issue of whether the airline can sue Blue Grass Airport.
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With the two-year anniversary of the Aug. 27, 2006, accident two weeks away, only four crash-related cases are pending.
In the one heard yesterday, the justices are being asked to decide whether the airport can be sued for any role it may have played in the crash, which killed 49 of the 50 people aboard.
A Fayette County circuit judge ruled last August that the airport could not be held liable because it is part of the merged Lexington-Fayette County government.
The Kentucky Court of Appeals asked the Supreme Court to hear the appeal of that decision.
If the high court were to rule for Comair, the suit would go back to Fayette Circuit Court for trial on the merits.
The National Transportation Safety Board concluded last year that pilot error was primarily responsible for the accident, which occurred when the crew tried to take off on the wrong runway -- one that was too short.
During yesterday's oral arguments, Comair attorney Ed Stopher said the airport should not be granted sovereign immunity because it is not controlled by state government and doesn't receive the bulk of its funding from state government.
But airport attorney Kevin Henry said those two issues are not relevant to the case. He said only the General Assembly can waive a county or county agency's sovereign immunity, a step that has not been taken in this case.
Henry also argued that opening up county agencies to lawsuits could derail the delivery of essential services to the public.
Both sides laid out details regarding the airport's operations to support their arguments.
Stopher, for example, said fees that the airport charges airlines, concessionaires, passengers and for parking -- rather than state funding -- make up a large share of its $11 million annual budget.
He said that in the year of the crash, the state spent $50 a month to lease a weather station at the airport and gave the airport a $200,000 one-time grant to construct box hangars.
Henry, however, noted that the state budget that took effect last month includes state money for a runway expansion project at the airport. Lawmakers approved $9 million for the expansion this year.
Henry also said federal grants and bond issues -- not fees -- make up the bulk of the airport's funding.
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Reporter Stephenie Steitzer can be reached at (502) 875-5136.
