SANTA MONICA—On Friday, November 4, the city of Santa Monica filed Unlawful Detainer lawsuits against Atlantic Aviation and American Flyers. Filed in Los Angeles Superior Court, the Unlawful Detainer (UD) actions are meant to force Atlantic Aviation and American Flyers to vacate the Santa Monica Airport where both are operating under leases which have expired.
“Having served both businesses with 30-day notices to vacate which have been ignored, the next step is to sue for possession of the City-owned property and facilities via the UD action” states a press release from the city of Santa Monica.
These UDs come one day after the private businesses tried and failed to prevent the city from moving forward with eviction proceedings. The businesses requested a Temporary Restraining Order (TRO) against Santa Monica by filing lawsuits with the Los Angeles Superior Court. The request was denied by Superior Court Judge James Chalfant. Judge Chalfant set the matter aside until December 1, when it will be discussed as part of an Order to Show Cause (OSC) preliminary injunction hearing.
“Again, private aviation interests tried to thwart the public interest by seeking to preclude the City from having its day in court. Although the leases they signed explicitly acknowledge they had an obligation to vacate City-owned facilities last year, they sought to remain indefinitely to continue to reap profit from selling fuel from City-owned tanks and earn a mark-up from subleasing City-owned buildings. Judge Chalfant’s ruling allows the City to move forward with evictions. Finally, the people of Santa Monica will have our day in court,” stated Santa Monica Mayor Tony Vazquez.
For additional information on the court ruling, visit https://newsroom.smgov.net.
