A federal lawsuit is seeking to halt Marquette County, Michigan, from moving forward with plans to assume fixed-base operations at Marquette Sawyer Regional Airport.
Airport user Mark Hangen filed the complaint in U.S. District Court for the Western District of Michigan, alleging the county violated the Michigan Open Meetings Act and substantive due process protections when it terminated Kubick Aviation’s contract and voted to bring the FBO in-house.
Court filings state the county issued a six-month termination notice to Kubick Aviation on Oct. 27 under a provision allowing termination without cause. In November, the Marquette County Board of Commissioners voted to accept a recommendation from the Airport Advisory Board to end the agreement and proceed with county-operated FBO services. The lawsuit says the decision was made without proper public deliberation and without conducting sufficient financial and operational review before canceling the contract.
Board Chair Joe Derocha said the action followed the terms of the existing agreement.
“I think everything that’s been done is within the contractual agreements that have been signed,” Derocha told local WLUC. “The Kubick contract was terminated without cause, and it’s a six-month window.”
Hangen’s complaint asks the court to invalidate the termination and issue an injunction preventing the county from assuming FBO operations while the case proceeds.
County Administrator Duane DuRay told WLUC he is limited in what he can share because of the pending litigation but expressed confidence in the county’s actions.
“Rest assured, we went into this with both eyes open,” DuRay said.
The county has indicated it intends to take over FBO operations May 1 unless the court intervenes.
