DOT and FAA Airport Legal Determination and Opinion Letter Abstracts of 2023 (2025)
Chapter: Front Matter
DOT and FAA Airport
Legal Determination
and Opinion Letter
Abstracts of 2023
Timothy M. Ravich
Tressler LLP
Chicago, IL
Abstracts of 2023 for ACRP Project 11-01/Topic 10-01
Submitted August 2024
ACRP Web-Only Document 65
DOT and FAA Airport Legal Determination and Opinion Letter Abstracts of 2023
© 2025 by the National Academy of Sciences. National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine and the graphical logo are trademarks of the National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved.
Digital Object Identifier: https://doi.org/10.17226/28856
ACKNOWLEDGMENT
This work was sponsored by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). It was conducted through the Airport Cooperative Research Program (ACRP), which is administered by the Transportation Research Board (TRB) of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine.
COPYRIGHT INFORMATION
Authors herein are responsible for the authenticity of their materials and for obtaining written permissions from publishers or persons who own the copyright to any previously published or copyrighted material used herein.
Cooperative Research Programs (CRP) grants permission to reproduce material in this publication for classroom and not-for-profit purposes. Permission is given with the understanding that none of the material will be used to imply TRB, AASHTO, APTA, FAA, FHWA, FTA, GHSA, or NHTSA endorsement of a particular product, method, or practice. It is expected that those reproducing the material in this document for educational and not-for-profit uses will give appropriate acknowledgment of the source of any reprinted or reproduced material. For other uses of the material, request permission from CRP.
DISCLAIMER
The opinions and conclusions expressed or implied in this report are those of the researchers who performed the research. They are not necessarily those of the Transportation Research Board; the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine; or the program sponsors.
The Transportation Research Board does not develop, issue, or publish standards or specifications. The Transportation Research Board manages applied research projects which provide the scientific foundation that may be used by Transportation Research Board sponsors, industry associations, or other organizations as the basis for revised practices, procedures, or specifications.
The Transportation Research Board, the National Academies, and the sponsors of the Airport Cooperative Research Program do not endorse products or manufacturers. Trade or manufacturers’ names appear herein solely because they are considered essential to the object of the report.
The information contained in this document was taken directly from the submission of the author(s). This material has not been edited by TRB.
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COOPERATIVE RESEARCH PROGRAMS
CRP STAFF FOR ACRP WEB-ONLY DOCUMENT 65
Monique R. Evans, Director, Cooperative Research Programs
Waseem Dekelbab, Deputy Director, Cooperative Research Programs
Marci A. Greenberger, Manager, Airport Cooperative Research Program
Jordan Christensen, Senior Program Officer
Brittany Summerlin-Azeez, Program Coordinator
Demisha Williams, Senior Program Assistant
Natalie Barnes, Director of Publications
Heather DiAngelis, Associate Director of Publications
Margaret B. Hagood, Senior Editor
Lisa Whittington, Editor
ACRP PROJECT 11-01/TOPIC 10-01 PANEL
Field of Special Projects
Joseph Huber, Cincinnati-Northern Kentucky International Airport, Cincinnati, KY (Chair)
Amber Floyd, Memphis-Shelby County Airport Authority, Memphis, TN
Monica R. Hargrove, Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority, Alexandria, VA
Margaret Martin, Thompson Burton PLLC, Nashville, TN
Pedro J. Mercado, Monroe County Attorney’s Office, Key West, FL
Theresa Yoffie, Lambert, St. Louis International Airport, St. Louis, MO
Krystyna Bednarczyk, FAA Liaison
Justin Barkowski, American Association of Airport Executives Liaison
Pablo O. Nüesch, Airports Council International–North America Liaison
Robert J. Shea, TRB Liaison
FOREWORD
By Jordan Christensen
Staff Officer
Transportation Research Board
U.S. airports, in consideration of financial assistance received from the federal government, are required to comply with obligations imposed by federal law, called grant assurances. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) adjudicates complaints, brought by the FAA or raised by third parties, relating to alleged failures by airports to comply with grant assurances.
The U.S. Department of Transportation (U.S. DOT) and FAA are the primary federal agencies issuing guidance on federal airport compliance matters, through 14 C.F.R. Part 16 determinations and orders and 14 C.F.R. Part 13 decisions issued by FAA; 49 U.S.C. § 47129 decisions issued by U.S. DOT; and legal opinion letters, memoranda, and related documents issued by the U.S. DOT General Counsel and FAA Chief Counsel. ACRP Web-Only Document 65: DOT and FAA Airport Legal Determination and Opinion Letter Abstracts of 2023 compiles abstracts of such determinations and documents issued in 2023, which will help airport operators, law firms, and consultants identify changes that may have occurred to determinations from previous years. Each abstract comprises a summary of the facts and holdings, the name of the affected airport, applicable previous histories of the case, and key terms. Related agency documents for each abstract can be found by clicking on the linked text under the abstract title and in the History section.
The legal matters discussed in these documents include airport rates and charges policy, airport rules and regulations, breach of contractual terms, leasing practices, noise and access restrictions, and the standards for determining airport sponsor compliance with other federal obligations.
ACRP Web-Only Document 65 accompanies ACRP Legal Research Digest 21: Compilation of DOT and FAA Airport Legal Determinations and Opinion Letters as of December 31, 2023, which expands on the web-only document by providing not only the abstracts contained herein but also their related agency documents, as well as abstracts and agency documents of determinations, opinion letters, and other materials from 1996 onward in an indexed and searchable website.
Neither U.S. DOT nor FAA nor TRB endorses the accuracy of the abstracts, and neither the abstracts themselves nor their authors are providing legal advice. Readers are advised to review the agency documents.
CONTENTS
Timberview Helicopters, Inc. v. Okaloosa County, Florida – No. 16-21-14
Occhiuzzo v. City of Westfield, Massachusetts – No. 16-21-02
Horry County, South Carolina v. City of Myrtle Beach, South Carolina – No. 16-21-07
United Airlines, Inc. v. Port Authority of New York and New Jersey – No. 16-14-13
Jason Theuma and Paragon Skydive LLC v. State of Arizona – No. 16-19-16
Friends of East Hampton Airport, Inc. et al. v. Town of East Hampton, NY – No. 16-15-02
Marina Aviation, LLC v. City of Marina, California – No. 16-21-12
