photo by: Journal-World File Photo

This file photo from March 2009 shows the Lawrence Municipal Airport from the southeast looking northwest.

The City of Lawrence is asking a judge to dismiss a lawsuit filed by a longtime pilot that claims the city hasn’t properly kept up some airport infrastructure.

Great Planes Inc., which operates an airplane hangar and offices at the airport on space leased from the city, filed the lawsuit this spring in Douglas County District Court. The lawsuit alleges that disrepair of the runway damaged one of the company’s airplanes in 2014. Great Planes claims the city breached its contract with the company, and it is seeking damages of about $19,000, plus interest and legal fees.

The lawsuit argues that because of disrepair of the runway and “extended” construction projects that cut off Great Planes’ access to the runway, the city breached its contract in two ways: quiet enjoyment, and good faith and fair dealing.

In its request to dismiss the lawsuit, filed Friday, the city alleges the lawsuit’s claims are actually negligence claims “disguised” as contract claims in an attempt to circumvent the two-year statute of limitations for negligence claims. In addition, the city alleges that the lease agreement between the city and Great Planes bars such actions. The city goes on to state that Great Planes’ position is “puzzling.”

“What is most puzzling about Plaintiff’s position is that Plaintiff complains in one hand that the condition of the tarmac caused damage to its plane but then complains in the other that the City’s improvements were also damaging them,” the response states.

The city also argues against the two alleged contract breaches, saying that the lease agreement reserved with the city the right to develop, improve or maintain the runway and other public airport facilities “as it sees fit, regardless of the desires or view of the Lessee.”

Great Planes executed a 35-year land lease with the city in 1989, according to documents that Great Planes and the city provided to the court. The Kansas secretary of state’s office lists Lawrence resident and longtime pilot Stephen Craig as the authorized officer for Great Planes Inc.

Specifically, Great Planes’ lawsuit alleges that in March of 2014, the propeller of an airplane owned by Great Planes was damaged from a rock strike that occurred on the airport’s tarmac. The lawsuit states that prior to the incident Great Planes had informed the city that the tarmac was unsafe because of loose pavement chunks and other debris.

Following the damage, the lawsuit states that Great Planes submitted a claim to the city, including estimates for repair to the plane, but the parties were unable to come to a resolution. The city informed Great Planes that the pavement may need maintenance; however, the city could not find material missing from the tarmac of a sufficient size to cause the damage Great Planes indicated, according to the lawsuit.

Great Planes requests that the court order the city to pay $15,723 for property damage and $2,910 for the loss of the material benefits of the lease. It also requests the city pay pre- and post-judgment interest, costs of the legal action and attorney’s fees. The city requests that the court dismiss both counts of the lawsuit.

The city-operated airport is just outside Lawrence on U.S. Highway 24 and covers nearly 500 acres, according to the city’s website. The airport has a 5,700-foot runway and averages more than 100 daily flights. Aircraft that use the airport include single- and twin-engine planes as well as business jets. The city has owned and operated the airport since 1929.

The lawsuit is pending and a hearing in the case has not been scheduled.