Residents Lose Round in Airport Noise Case

Warning that nuisance damages would lead to local control of air transportation, a U.S. District judge Friday threw out hundreds of claims filed by property owners against the San Diego Unified Port District for damages resulting from airport noise at Lindbergh Field.

Although the nuisance claim was thrown out, residents will still be allowed to take their lawsuit to trial next summer on the constitutional issue of property rights.

Earlier this year, about 1,200 Loma Portal and Point Loma residents sued the Port District over airport noise. The lawsuit included two separate claims for damages that totaled $200,000 per resident.

In one claim, each resident attempted to collect $100,000 on grounds that airport noise is a nuisance that has resulted in personal injury. Attorneys for the Port District and the U.S. Justice Department, which filed a friend-of-the-court brief on behalf of the Port District, argued that awarding such damages would in effect extend local control over international airports and national air routes, which fall under the federal government’s domain.

On Friday, Judge Lawrence J. Irving agreed with the federal government and the Port District and dismissed the residents’ claims for nuisance damages. Quoting from a Supreme Court decision in a case involving Burbank Airport, Irving said that “federal control is exclusive and extensive” in air transportation.

Regulation at Issue

Awarding “any civil nuisance damages is tantamount to local regulation,” Irving said in a brief ruling from the bench.

Michael Gatzke, attorney for the Port District, noted that state law allows residents to file such claims, but he urged Irving to dismiss them because the state and local governments do not regulate airspace.

“Money damages under state law is a form of regulation,” Gatzke said.

But John Schimmenti, attorney for the residents who filed the suit, said that property owners were merely trying to recover damages. “It’s an attempt to recover damages . . . Seeking damages is not an attempted state regulation of this airport,” said Schimmenti.

However, Irving was not moved by Schimmenti’s argument and asked rhetorically, “Isn’t that effective regulation?”

In a meeting with reporters in the hallway, Schimmenti said residents are still claiming that the Port District illegally acquired portions of their properties by creating air easements over their homes. That part of the claim can go to trial in the summer.