CARLSBAD — The aims to take part in the ongoing legal battle over commercial service from American Airlines at McClellan-Palomar Airport.
However, the city’s application to join the lawsuit by Citizens from a Friendly Airport against San Diego County and the airline hit a snag on Thursday when a Superior Court judge did not rule on the request, according to Sarah Lemons, a Carlsbad spokeswoman. Instead, the court scheduled a hearing for Nov. 14.
Regardless, the city is seeking a mandatory injunction compelling San Diego County to obtain an amendment to the conditional use permit (CUP-172) regarding the agreement with American Airlines, which began service on Feb. 13. Some of those include the county’s actions of allowing larger aircraft and a new airport designation without a formal amendment to the CUP, among many others.
The city has hired the San Francisco-based law firm Shute, Mihaly & Weinberger LLP as legal counsel with Edward Schexnayder as lead counsel, according to court records. Initially, a hearing was scheduled on March 25 with Schexnayder representing the city as a “non-party,” but the hearing was cancelled, public court records show.
The city, meanwhile, refused to confirm if outside counsel was hired when asked before the April 4 hearing. The hearing was scheduled after Citizens for a Friendly Airport (C4FA) filed the original lawsuit on Jan. 27 and was seeking an injunction to stop all commercial service, including American Airlines. A judge ruled against the injunction and also questioned why the city wasn’t a party to the case.
After Nov. 14, the next court date is Dec. 19, as the court will hear a motion to strike from the county…..
