Gateway owners dismissed from suit on Ogden-Hinckley Airport operations
Allegations made that ordinances were selectively enforced to favor competitors
BY TIM GURRISTER Standard-Examiner staff tgurrister@standard.net
OGDEN — A judge has dismissed some of the defendants in a nearly two-year-old federal lawsuit against Ogden over its operation of the Ogden-Hinckley Airport. A former fixed-based operator, which provided services at the airport, AH Aero Services, also called OK3AIR, filed the civil rights suit in May 2005, claiming the city selectively enforced airport ordinances to benefit competitors. Those competitors as well as the city, the airport, Ogden Redevelopment Agency, and Ed Rich, airport manager, were named as defendants in the suit filed by Nadim Abu-Haidar, AH Aero owner. U.S. District Judge Tena Campbell dismissed one group of defendants tied to one of the airport’s fixedbased operators, Kemp Development Inc.’s Ogden Gateway Center jetpark. “My client has reached a settlement agreement with that group,” said Steven Hill, AbuHaidar’s Salt Lake City lawyer. “I can’t say much more than that. The terms of the settlement are confidential.” The now-dismissed defendants in the Kemp group include Kemp Development Inc., MTK Holding Inc., and principals in the companies Melvin T. Kemp and Bryce Gibby. In addition to the city entities and Rich, fixed-base operator Fair Air and principals Robert Fair and Joseph Consbruck remain as defendants. An FBO is a commercial enterprise that provides a variety of services, such as fueling, maintenance, hangar storage, parking and air charters. AbuHaidar’s AH Aero, based in Heber City, closed its operations at the Ogden airport shortly after the lawsuit was filed. “I don’t believe he has any intention of returning to Ogden,” Hill said. The suit alleges the city has selectively enforced ordinances regarding the airport and cited as an example what the suit termed the city’s illegally awarding a $2.3 million subsidy to Kemp Development Inc. for its Gateway center. Lawyers for the city and Fair Air have filed motions for summary judgment to resolve the lawsuit, with a May 2 hearing for oral arguments set before Campbell. The hearing was scheduled this week, canceling a 10-day jury trial that was to begin April 23 before Campbell. Hill said it was “too soon to tell” whether the case will ever progress to trial.