Nashville International Airport
A three-judge state court panel on Monday sided — temporarily at least — with a new state-appointed board overseeing the Nashville International Airport.
After a Friday hearing, the panel denied Metro’s request for a temporary restraining order related to a new state law that went into effect July 1 and gave state leaders the majority of appointments to the Metropolitan Nashville Airport Authority, formerly controlled by mayoral appointees.
The court panel did not rule on the merits of the case and cautioned “the parties as well as the public that nothing in this order should be construed as indicative of our view of the merits of Metro’s constitutional claims.” The panel added that Metro should have sued sooner so that the court could have considered temporary relief before the new board was seated last month.
Mayor John Cooper and Metro lawyers have backed what remains of the former MNAA board, which met last month at the same time as the new board.
The airport authority takeover was part of a series of state legislation aimed at Nashville governance earlier this year. The MNAA, which also oversees John Tune Airport, is one of the largest employers and landowners in Nashville and has since its inception been controlled by mayoral appointees. State Republican leaders argued that the Nashville airport is a regional asset and is funded in part by state money, though the legislation did not assert authority over airports in other Tennessee cities.
The court panel is made up of Chancellor Anne Martin of Nashville, Circuit Judge Mark Hayes of Dyersburg and Criminal Court Judge Zach Walden of Jacksboro.
This article first ran via our sister publication, the Nashville Post.
