Settlement reached in Yakima airport eviction case

Yakima Herald-Republic (WA)

Jan. 09--A nearly $1 million settlement in a wrongful eviction case at Yakima Air Terminal has ended years of uncertainty for the city of Yakima and Yakima County, which once faced the prospect of paying millions of dollars to former tenant M.A. West Rockies.

Instead, the city and county, who co-owned the airport at the time of the 2010 eviction, will split a payment of $18,750, said Don Anderson, Yakima County legal counsel. The majority of the settlement is expected to be paid by insurers of Yakima Air Terminal and Yakima law firm Lyon Weigand and Gustafson, which is settling a spinoff case with the city of Yakima.

The airport's insurance companies has previously filed lawsuits arguging that it should not have to pay for damages, but those involved in the case said they have agreed to pay the reduced amount.

Under the agreement, which is close to getting signatures from all involved, the Bellevue-based Byron W. and Alice L. Lockwood Foundation, the primary lien holder of the property, and the Langdon Family Revocable Trust, will receive $612,500 and $300,000 respectively. They were both creditors of the now-defunct M.A. West Rockies.

"As far as my client, he would obviously like to have more money (but) he got a pretty good chunk," said Zillah attorney J.J. Sandlin, who was part of the legal team for Langdon Family Revocable Trust.

Tim Carlson, a Yakima attorney representing the Lockwood Foundation, did not immediately return a phone call seeking comment.

The agreement not only will settle the main wrongful eviction case but also resolve several spinoff cases including one in Yakima County Superior Court between the city of Yakima and Yakima attorney Russ Gilbert and Lyon, Weigand and Gustafson, his law firm. The city sued Gilbert, who represented Yakima during early proceedings in the M.A. West Rockies case, for malpractice. A judge ruled to dismiss the lawsuit but the city appealed. According to the settlement, the law firm (and/or its insurance company) agreed to pay the city $158,750.

The Yakima City Council will vote Tuesday on a resolution to pay its portion of the settlement. The Yakima County Commission also is expected to approve payment of its portion Tuesday.

"I believe this is a good solution to a very difficult situation," said Yakima city attorney Jeff Cutter.

The Yakima airport evicted M.A. West Rockies, which was offering various aviation services under the Noland Decoto Flying Service name, in March 2010 claiming it was constantly late on rent. Yakima County Superior Court judge sided with the airport several months later.

But M.A. West Rockies appealed and a state appeals court ruled in December 2013 that the Yakima airport wrongly evicted the company. M.A. West Rockies was able to prove it had paid its rent in a timely matter.

The decision put the case back before Yakima County Superior Court to determine damages for the now-defunct company.

Had a settlement had not been reached, a trial for the case was scheduled to start in March.

In addition to the amount it would receive under the settlement, the Lockwood Foundation also is expected to receive the majority of the $1.8 million generated in the November sale of M.A. West Rockies' former property at 2810 W. Washington Ave.

The majority of the property -- nearly six acres -- was purchased by McCormick Land and Development LLC for more than $1.28 million. Rob McCormick, the LLC's principal, operates the McCormick Air Center, which offers a variety of aviation services on property farther west on West Washington Avenue. A smaller portion of the property was purchased by business owner John Filliol for $544,842.

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