Judge rules against Los Angeles in airport dispute

Ontario has won a round in its battle with Los Angeles over control of Los Angeles International Airport.

Superior Court Judge Gloria Connor Trask ruled Thursday that three breach-of-contract claims filed by Ontario against Los Angeles, the airport’s owner, should be left in place and decided at trial, according to a report in The Press-Enterprise.

Attorneys for the city of Los Angeles argued that the breach-of-contract claims, and counter-claims associated with them, should all be dismissed because the deadline for filing such requests has expired.

Ontario is suing Los Angeles World Airports, the city agency that owns and operates Ontario International, to get control of that facility.

Passenger traffic has plummeted there during the past several years, and Ontario maintains that LAWA has neglected Ontario International at the expense of its other major property, Los Angeles International Airport.

LAWA officials blame the drop in traffic on the recession. Los Angeles has owned the airport for several decades. Ontario has claimed a total of $3.6 billion in economic losses, and a loss of 10,700 jobs, because of the loss of traffic at the airport, according to the report.

Attorneys for LAWA declined to comment on Trask’s ruling.