DBT Yuma LLC v. Yuma County Airport Auth.

DBT Yuma subleased property at the Yuma International Airport from the Yuma County Airport Authority - a nonprofit corporation that operated the airport under a lease from Yuma County - and operated a fixed base operation there. YCAA later evicted DBT Yuma and entered into a new sublease with another tenant. DBT Yuma sued YCAA for breaching its sublease. DBT Yuma later added Yuma County as a defendant, alleging that YCAA was the County’s “instrumentality and alter ego,” and therefore, the County was liable for YCAA’s breach. The trial court granted summary judgment in favor of the County. At issue on appeal was the interpretation of Ariz. Rev. Stat. 28-8424(A)(3), under which a nonprofit corporation that leases airport property from a county “[p]erforms an essential governmental function as an agency or instrumentality” of the county. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding that section 28-8424(A)(3) by itself does not make YCAA the County’s agent for purposes of imputed liability. View "DBT Yuma LLC v. Yuma County Airport Auth." on Justia Law