- Start Skydiving agrees to dismiss litigation against the city of Middletown; Daniel Dickten, former airport manager; and Matthew Eisenbraun, former assistant economic development director who oversaw the airport.
- No hangar expansion will be required. Instead, Middletown will pay Start Skydiving $795,000 in full and final settlement of all claims, including breach of contract (failure to build hangar expansion, failure to provide storage space and improper storage charges), defamation, computer fraud and public records violations. The $795,000 will be appropriated from the city’s general fund, according to a staff report.
- Existing leases for Start Skydiving and SMS will run until 2029 on original lease terms for the first eight years, including no surcharges or new restrictions on use of landing areas, airport aprons or courtyards, and camping areas. Grass cutting will be handled by the city and fuel will be provided with no markup beyond existing 25 cents per gallon.
- Middletown agrees to dismiss its eviction action and to dismiss/release all possible claims against Start Skydiving and SMS.
- Defendants Dickten and Eisenbraun are not required to sign the settlement agreement, but can if they want to participate in mutual dismissals. Even if they do not sign, but the city does, Start Skydiving agrees to never recommence any litigation against Dickten and Eisenbraun unless either defendant does so.
Previous attempts at settlement
In November 2022, city council authorized a lawsuit settlement, but five months later, Start Skydiving owners hadn’t signed the agreement, according to court documents filed in March 2023 by the city’s attorney.
The settlement included a 40-year lease extension and a new hangar worth up to $1.4 million. The new lease was supposed to start once the certificate of occupancy was issued and lasted for eight years renewable for four times.
LAWSUITS FILED BY THE CITY, START SKYDIVING
Open meetings lawsuit: On Dec. 28, 2020, John P. Hart III, a co-owner of Start Skydiving, filed a civil complaint in Butler County Common Pleas Court against the city of Middletown and council members Talbott Moon, Monica Nenni, Joe Mulligan and Ami Vitori alleging the council illegally went into executive session on Nov. 13, Dec. 1 and Dec. 15, 2020, to consider the lease of public property.
Mayor Nicole Condrey was not listed as a defendant since she abstained during the vote to go into executive session and did not participate in the discussion. She is limited by an Ohio Ethics Commission Advisory Opinion due to her past employment and affiliation with Team Fastrax, a professional skydiving team operated by the Hart family.
Middletown complaint and eviction notice: On Jan. 7, 2021, Middletown filed a civil complaint against Start Skydiving and Selection Management Systems Inc., for declaratory judgment and other relief in Butler County Common Pleas Court. In addition, it also filed an eviction notice for Start to vacate the office space in Hangar 1707 that is used for the airport manager and Fixed-Base Operator.
City officials allowed Start to remain in that space as productive conversations happened between Start Skydiving and the city toward resolution of real estate and operational issues among them.
Federal lawsuit filed by Start Skydiving: Start Skydiving filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Cincinnati late in 2020 against the city, Eisenbraun and Dickten.
Start said that “this case is about the ongoing vindictive, corrupt and deceitful attempts by the city and its key personnel to kick Start out of the airport and to harm its business, despite Start’s 20-year lease at the airport, which runs through 2029.”
Start alleged city personnel hacked into Start’s online financial database to spy on Start and steal its business data in violation of Start’s civil rights under federal law, spread false and defamatory statements about Start’s operations and made up claims of unsafe operations by Start that were not true. The company also raised claims about ongoing lease issues with the city.
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