JULY 2020
A 3rd EXTENSION GRANTED IN CITY OF SCOTTSDALE LAWSUIT AGAINST THE FAA
The petition the City of Scottsdale filed against the FAA has seen little actual progress in the Courtroom. In April the FAA was granted an extension by the U.S. Court of Appeals to file its response to the petition on May 27th instead of April 27th. On May 27th the FAA asked for and was granted another 60 day extension to July 27th. Then, on July 14th, the FAA asked for and was granted yet another extension to October 16th, without objection by the City. See the latest Court document HERE.
There is one difference with the latest extension, however. The latest Court document states the reason for the extension is "to accommodate pending mediation".
This would indicate the parties will be talking to hopefully resolve the litigation issues out of Court. This could be a positive event if the FAA is serious about rescinding the illegal flight paths over Scottsdale that it implemented with it's NextGen system at Sky Harbor Airport at the end of 2014. The FAA was forced via Court action by the City of Phoenix to rescind westbound flight paths that were moved via NextGen processes at that time. It is hoped the Court would again find those processes illegal since the FAA implemented the flight paths over Scottsdale in the exact same manner. Though mediation with the FAA in other cases has not been successful, SCANA hopes Scottsdale can convince the FAA that it will be to everyone's benefit to negotiate a settlement to rescind the flight paths rather than go through the Court process that would result in the same outcome. If the FAA is not serious about resolving the issue via mediation, the City of Scottsdale says it is prepared to continue litigation to achieve the rescission of the flight paths. The City did not disclose to SCANA if any mediation talks have taken place or any timelines in the future when it would be undertaken. SCANA hopes the City will push hard to see that serious talks begin soon if they haven't already started.
With the latest extension, listed below is the new schedule and due dates for Court activities if mediation fails. The dates as stated are:
Petitioner's Brief: October 16, 2020
Respondent's Brief: November 16, 2020
Petitioner's Reply Brief: December 7, 2020
Deferred Appendix: December 14, 2020
Final Briefs: December 28, 2020
Once the above briefing process is complete, the Court will schedule oral arguments. It is not known how or when those might be scheduled. Since residents are anxious to see this lawsuit resolved, it is hoped the mediation and legal process will proceed without further delays. If mediation were to result in acceptable outcomes, any Court action could be entirely canceled.
As new developments in the case become known, SCANA will send out updates and post them on the SCANA website at airplanenoise.org.
CLICK HERE to read the original City petition. 3/9/2020
CLICK HERE to read the City's Statement of Issues. 4/2/2020
CLICK HERE to read the Court's 1st extension document 4/21/2020
CLICK HERE to read the Courts 2nd extension document 5/8/2020
CLICK HERE to read the Courts 3rd extension document 7/14/2020
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CHECK OUR WEBSITE OFTEN: AIRPLANENOISE.ORG
You can email us at scanaphx@gmail.com
PLEASE CONTINUE TO SUPPORT THE EFFORTS TO RESTORE THE QUIET AND SAFE SKIES SCOTTSDALE ENJOYED BEFORE THEY WERE STOLEN BY THE FAA
WE DID NOT MOVE TO THE FAA, THE FAA MOVED TO US!
Thousands of homeowners in Scottsdale and across the Country purchased their homes before an airplane superhighway was "arbitrarily and capriciously" placed over their neighborhoods without their knowledge or input.
