Helicopter Company Sues L. A. Over Land Lease
A helicopter company filed a $10.2-million lawsuit against the city of Los Angeles on Friday for allegedly agreeing to lease property the company now occupies at Van Nuys Airport to Home Depot for a parking lot.
Attorneys for National Helicopter Service & Engineering Co. filed suit in Los Angeles Superior Court, asking for a court order barring the city from leasing four acres of land at 16800 Roscoe Blvd. to Home Depot.
Richard P. Louis, an attorney for the helicopter company, said that his clients have leased the property for use as a heliport for 33 years and that the Los Angeles Department of Airports agreed in 1983 to continue the lease.
As a result, over the last decade, National officials embarked on a plan to improve the property, which included building a new hangar and another building, Louis said. In January, however, National was notified that the Department of Airports had decided to lease two acres of the property to Home Depot.
The lawsuit alleges that the breach of contract has caused National to lose $200,000 in development costs and $10 million in the loss of value of the company’s development plan.
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