Tennessee City, Airport Authority Treasurer Also Name In Lease Dispute -- But There's Another Side To This Story

The Tullahoma, TN, Airport Authority voted early in August to terminate the lease of the National Aerospace Education Center. The move prompted CEO Chris Rounds to file a lawsuit against the Airport Authority, its Treasurer, and the City of Tullahoma.

Rounds charges the defendants with "breach of contract, bad faith, and violation of the Tennessee Consumer Protection Act." He also names Treasurer Karla Smith individually for "defamation and intentional misrepresentation," according to the Tullahoma News.

The airport authority said it terminated the lease because the company allowed its liability insurance to lapse. However, according to the suit, there was no written notice that the lease was in jeopardy, and that the contract gives NAEC 30 days to correct the deficiency before the lease can be terminated. Rounds also says in the filing that the hangar was not without liability insurance, as the city carries such insurance on the buildings.

His charges against Treasurer Karla Smith include that she has a conflict of interest with another insurance company, and that she made "false and defamatory statements" about him, including failure to pay obligations such as utility bills.

Rounds also charges that the city and airport authority delayed repairing a leak in the hangar roof over an area he intended to use as a classroom until 30 days ago, constituting a breach of the lease. He is asking the court to award him $10,900 plus reimbursement of improper electric utility charges in compensatory damages from the city. He is also seeking $20,000 from Smith on the defamation charge, plus additional compensation for travel time, lost wages, and other items.

An additional $25,000 is sought from the airport authority for "reckless, intentional, and fraudulent acts." He would also have the court bar Smith from serving on the airport authority for 10 years.

Of note, though, is the fact that this is the same Chris Rounds that has been involved in quite a bit of litigation over the years, as well as some other problems that cause many to question the credibility of his complaints. Rounds was previously involved with aero-crook David Riggs in a number of schemes that ultimately were brought down by the FAA... including a questionable Air Racing project that was long on hype and short on reality -- as well as a specific Camarillo, CA, based Air Race/Air Show project that was shot down two years ago when the FAA found the program could not meet its safety guidelines after much of the qualifications and preparation boasted by the so-called team were found to be unsupportable.

Prior to that, Rounds carries other negative baggage in the airshow and the Oshkosh community for his FAA suspension following a 2005 close intercept (while flying the 'Red Knight' T-33) of a Mitsubishi MU-2 turboprop near Wittman field as well as a subsequent bust by the FAA for being aboard an aircraft performing shortly thereafter (while his ticket was still in suspension). The Tullahoma bust was dropped and the FAA eventually declined to prosecute that incident (though the Oshkosh suspension stood until the allotted time expired) but his $2 million dollar suit against Airshow Performer Julie Clark (for the letter she wrote, reportedly at the request of the authorities, to describe what she saw in Tullahoma), has rubbed many in the airshow community the wrong way and created a significant negative backlash where Rounds is concerned.

FMI: www.tullahomatn.gov/airport-authority