Tue, Aug 09, 2011
Operator Of FBO Fails In Premise That Lockout By Landlord
Violated Fourth Amendment
A federal complaint by DeKalb Aviation in Illinois, which
claimed its Constitutional protections against unreasonable search
and seizure under The Fourth Amendment were violated by the City of
DeKalb back in December, has had its lawsuit dismissed.
Local news site daily-chronicle.com reports the city declared
the FBO in default of the terms of its lease for not storing and
selling fuel as required, and after it didn't pay its November rent
at DeKalb Taylor Municipal Airport, where it had operated since
2008. As landlords often do in cases of deadbeat tenants, the city
changed the locks and seized the company's property pending
settlement.
DeKalb Aviation responded in January with a lawsuit against the
city of DeKalb, various city officials and Airport Manager Tom
Cleveland claiming the action constituted unreasonable search and
seizure. Judge Frederick Kapala of the Northern District of the
U.S. District Court asserted in his ruling, “In this case,
even taking all of plaintiff’s allegations as true, the
seizure of the plaintiff’s personal property from the
disputed property was not unreasonable...Plaintiff’s failure
to pay the November 2010 rent constituted a default under the lease
agreement.”
Kapala's ruling dealt with only two of the six counts in the
FBO's lawsuit covered by federal law. Four additional counts were
dismissed without prejudice because the judge ruled they should be
pursued in state courts. The city's March countersuit, seeking
damages from DeKalb Aviation for unpaid rent and failure to store
and sell fuel as required by the contract, has also been
dismissed.
Attorney Joanie Rae Wimmer, who has represented DeKalb Aviation,
says a decision on an appeal has not yet been made.
DeKalb Mayor Kris Povlsen says he feels positive for the city.
“We felt pretty strongly that it wasn’t a legitimate
case to begin with.”
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