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Keith Benman
The NWI Times
Gary Airport Prevails in Lawsuit
A lawsuit against Gary/Chicago International Airport claiming more than $5 million in damages has been settled in the airport's favor, according to airport officials.
A Lake County jury last week decided the airport had not breached its contract with Aviation Professionals Institute LLC when it did not provide the former airport tenant with jet fuel storage tanks for refueling planes, said Chris Curry, airport director.
Aviation Professionals Institute operated a flying school starting in 2002 at the airport, and in 2005 entered into a new agreement with the airport authority to become a fixed-base operator.
Aviation Professionals Institute alleged the airport authority had agreed to allow it to sell jet fuel as part of that agreement, according to documents filed in the case. The case has been in litigation for three years.
Calls to the Aviation Professionals Institute's lawyers, George Paras, of Merrillville, and The Collins Law Firm, of Naperville, Ill., were not returned. The institute no longer operates at the airport.
The case was heard last week in Lake Superior Court in Gary before Judge Gerald Svetanoff. Aviation Professionals Institute now has 30 days to appeal the court's decision.
The only fixed-base operator currently at the airport selling jet fuel and aviation gasoline is the Gary Jet Center.
This article ran on nwitimes.com on May 5, 2009.
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