ASHEVILLE JET, INC. v. City of Asheville

689 S.E.2d 162, 202 N.C. App. 1, 2010 N.C. App. LEXIS 85
CourtCourt of Appeals of North Carolina
DecidedJanuary 19, 2010
DocketCOA08-1549
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 689 S.E.2d 162 (ASHEVILLE JET, INC. v. City of Asheville) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of North Carolina primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
ASHEVILLE JET, INC. v. City of Asheville, 689 S.E.2d 162, 202 N.C. App. 1, 2010 N.C. App. LEXIS 85 (N.C. Ct. App. 2010).

Opinions

[3]*3McGEE, Judge.

Plaintiff entered into a lease with Asheville Regional Airport Authority (the Authority) to act as a Fixed Based Operator (FBO) at the Asheville Regional Airport (the Airport) on 1 January 1993, to provide general aviation services such as fueling, maintenance and ground services for private aircraft at the Airport. Pursuant to the lease agreement between Plaintiff and the Authority, Plaintiff was to pay the Authority a monthly rent amounting to five percent of Plaintiff’s gross receipts.

The Authority receives federal money pursuant to 49 U.S.C. §§ 47101 et seq., the Airport and Airway Improvement Act of 1982 (AAIA). By accepting these federal grants, the Authority agrees to abide by certain policies, rules, standards, and regulations set out in the AAIA. Approval for these grant applications is conditioned on the Authority’s agreement to abide by the policies, rules, standards, and regulations concerning airport operations (grant assurances) established by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), a division of the Department of Transportation (DOT). Pursuant to 14 CFR 16.23, any “person directly and substantially affected by any alleged noncompliance” with the AAIA, including grant assurances, “may file a complaint with the [FAA] Administrator. A person doing business with an airport and paying fees or rentals to the airport shall be considered directly and substantially affected by alleged revenue diversion as defined in 49 U.S.C. 47107(b).” 14 CFR 16.23 (2008). This type of action is commonly known as a “Part 16 proceeding.”

Encore FBO Acquisitions, LLC (Encore) entered into an FBO lease agreement with the Authority on 9 November 2007. Plaintiff initiated a Part 16 proceeding with the FAA pursuant to 14 CFR 16.23 on 25 January 2008, alleging that the Authority was in violation of multiple grant assurances. Specifically, Plaintiff alleged that the lease agreement between Encore and the Authority granted Encore substantially more favorable terms than those granted Plaintiff in its lease agreement with the Authority, including the rent charged to Encore. Plaintiff alleged that the lease agreement between Encore and the Authority violated certain sections of 49 U.S.C. § 47107(a) and 40103(e), implementing regulations, policy, and grant assurances.

Plaintiff also filed a complaint against Defendants in Buncombe County Superior Court on 6 February 2008, in which it alleged that the more favorable terms granted to Encore constituted a breach of Plaintiff’s lease agreement with the Authority, because Plaintiff’s [4]*4lease agreement included a provision guaranteeing that more favorable terms would not be granted to any competitor. Plaintiffs complaint included claims for breach of contract, constitutional violations, statutory violations, procedural violations, unfair and deceptive trade practices, and tortious interference with contract and business relations. Plaintiff asked for monetary and declaratory relief. The FAA is not a party to Plaintiffs state court action.

The Authority moved to dismiss Plaintiff’s complaint on 28 July 2008, pursuant to Rules 12(b)(1) and 12(b)(6) of the North Carolina Rules of Civil Procedure, arguing that: (1) Plaintiff’s claims were preempted by federal law, (2) Plaintiff had failed to exhaust its administrative remedies, (3) Plaintiff’s claims were subject to the primary jurisdiction of the FAA, and (4) Plaintiff failed to state a claim upon which relief could be granted. The City of Asheville filed a motion to dismiss on the same grounds as the Authority on 7 August 2008. By order entered 15 September 2008, the trial court denied Defendants’ motions to dismiss. Defendants appeal. Additional facts will be addressed in the body of this opinion.

I.

Defendants argue a single assignment of error on appeal: “The trial court erred in denying Defendants’ Motions to Dismiss because [Plaintiff’s] claims for relief are preempted by federal law.”

The dispositive question is whether this interlocutory appeal from the order of the trial court is properly before our Court. Defendants argue that their appeal from the 15 September 2008 order is properly before us because the 15 September 2008 order affects substantial rights that will be lost absent immediate appeal. We disagree.

N.C. Gen. Stat. § l-277(a) (2007) states: “An appeal may be taken from every judicial order or determination of a judge of a superior or district court, upon or involving a matter of law or legal inference, whether made in or out of session, which affects a substantial right claimed in any action or proceeding[.]” See also N.C. Gen. Stat. § 7A-27(d)(l) (2007); Jeffreys v. Raleigh Oaks Joint Venture, 115 N.C. App. 377, 379, 444 S.E.2d 252, 253 (1994). “A right is substantial when it will clearly be lost or irremediably and adversely affected if the order is not reviewed before final judgment.” RPR & Assocs. v. University of N.C.-Chapel Hill, 153 N.C. App. 342, 347, 570 S.E.2d 510, 514 (2002) (citation omitted). “ ‘The “substantial right” test for [5]*5appealability is more easily stated than applied.’ ‘It is usually necessary to resolve the question in each case by considering the particular facts of that case and the procedural context in which the order from which appeal is sought was entered.’ ” Bernick v. Jurden, 306 N.C. 435, 439, 293 S.E.2d 405, 408 (1982) (citations omitted). “[I]t is the appellant’s burden to present appropriate grounds for this Court’s acceptance of an interlocutory appeal and our Court’s responsibility to review those grounds.” Jeffreys, 115 N.C. App. at 379, 444 S.E.2d at 253.

Defendants argue that, because the trial court denied their motions to dismiss, Defendants will “now be required to litigate the same issues in two different proceedings.” Defendants contend that “the trial court’s order affects [their] substantial right to avoid the possibility of inconsistent verdicts in separate trials. Our Supreme Court has held that the right to avoid the possibility of two trials on the same issues is a substantial right that may support immediate appeal.” Alexander Hamilton Life Ins. Co. of Am. v. J&H Marsh & McClennan, Inc., 142 N.C. App. 699, 701, 543 S.E.2d 898, 900 (2001) (citations omitted) (emphasis added).

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ASHEVILLE JET, INC. v. City of Asheville
689 S.E.2d 162 (Court of Appeals of North Carolina, 2010)

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Bluebook (online)
689 S.E.2d 162, 202 N.C. App. 1, 2010 N.C. App. LEXIS 85, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/asheville-jet-inc-v-city-of-asheville-ncctapp-2010.