Plaintiffs: FOIA response from FAA shows airport authority knew of, withheld documents
Attorneys for Choice Fabricators and Advance Etowah are asking that the Gadsden Airport Authority be held in contempt of court and sanctioned, contending documents it obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request to the Federal Aviation Administration prove that the GAA failed to provided public records it requested.
The plaintiffs sued GAA Chairman Billy Billingsley, the City of Gadsden, the Gadsden Water and Sewer Board, and the Gadsden-Etowah Industrial Development Authority, accusing the agencies of failing to provide documents subject to public records law.
In a motion filed Monday, attorneys Christie Knowles and Joshua Sullivan say their plaintiffs have asked for all communications between the GAA and the FAA, among other things.
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Counsel for Billingsley said in a motion to dismiss and in court Jan. 3 that they had endeavored to provide all documents and would continue to work to ensure all public documents were provided.
After receiving documents from the FAA through a Freedom of Information Act request, however, the plaintiffs say the documents "show that the GAA and its counsel were aware of such documents and just flagrantly refused to produce them."
The motion notes a September letter from GAA attorney Jim Williams to the FAA that includes an attached letter from Billingsley to the FAA — a letter the plaintiffs say they never received despite requests.
The Sept. 16, 2021, letter from the FAA to the GAA notes that Pilgrim's Pride had filed Form 7460s seeking approval to build a rendering plant on airport property, and asked the GAA for its concurrence to the Pilgrim's filing.
"We want to make sure you are aware of the proposal and the significant environmental concerns, and we ask that you acknowledge your responsibility, and your concurrence with the proposal," the letter stated, according to the plaintiff's motion.
The letter from Billingsley, emailed by his attorney on Sept. 29, 2021, gives the GAA's concurrence, the motion states, and indicates Pilgrim's had addressed the GAA's concerns to its satisfaction.
The plaintiffs ask the judge to:
Hold the GAA in contempt for its failure to produce records;
Sanction the GAA for such failure;
Order the GAA to immediately comply with open records requests;
Order the GAA to fully and completely comply with future open records requests from the plaintiffs and members of the public;
Order the GAA to pay attorney fees and costs of filing its motion and its failure to produce records, pursuant to the common benefit doctrine as it results in a general service to the public and public interest;
Grant other relief the court deems proper.
Contact Gadsden Times reporter Donna Thornton at 256-393-3284 or donna.thornton@gadsdentimes.com.
This article originally appeared on The Gadsden Times: Gadsden Airport Authority: Attorneys seek contempt, sanctions
