Tuesday, February 11, 2014

Airport director sues old employer: Curry's lawsuit says he was wrongfully terminated

Newly hired Tallahassee Regional Airport Executive Director Chris Curry has sued his old employer on a claim that his contract was unlawfully terminated in the midst of a political battle.

On Jan. 14, Curry filed suit against the Collier County Commission after it voted to reconsider a previously approved extension of his contract to September 2015. The decision left Curry without a job by October. He was hired to run Tallahassee’s municipal airport in December by City Manager Anita Favors Thompson and started work on Jan. 22.

Curry had alerted Favors Thompson of his plans to sue Collier County before he was hired, according to Assistant to City Manager Michelle Bono.

In the lawsuit, Curry asked the Collier County Circuit Court to award $122,278 in lost severance pay, wages and benefits. Naples-based attorney Joseph Stewart said the commission improperly used a county policy that allowed them to reconsider some decisions.

“But the rule they used had to do with zoning; not contracting,” Stewart said on Monday. “That’s the focus of this lawsuit.”

Curry said he was hired by Collier County in 2010 to oversee its three airports, standardize operations and enforce rules that were rarely followed. Existing tenants at the airports complained to the county commission.

“I was brought to the Collier County Airport Authority to clean up a not-so-professional airport environment,” Curry told the Tallahassee Democrat. “Part of that was standardization of some of the rules and part of that was treating tenants fairly.”

In 2012, the Collier commission voted to extend Curry’s contract but then reconsidered in March 2013. The reversal left County Commissioner Fred Coyle frustrated.

“This is the most dishonorable action I have ever seen an elected body take in my entire life,” Coyle said in a Monday interview. “It is unbelievable they have done this and it’s my opinion they have done this out of revenge.”

Efforts to reach other commissioners on Monday were unsuccessful.

Curry’s new job in Tallahassee pays $128,000. He oversees 53 employees and a $9.8-million budget. He replaced Sunil Harmon, who resigned in June for another airport director's position in Okaloosa County.

Curry said the lawsuit will be handled by attorneys and would not affect his performance here.

“That’s all up to the attorneys,” he said. “I’ve got my hands full here in Tallahassee.”


Story:    http://www.tallahassee.com

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