Branson Airport grants lawsuit venue change

Branson Airport LLC has granted defendants a change of venue to Jackson County in a lawsuit brought against runway engineers including Kansas City-based Burns & McDonnell Engineering Co. Inc. and Springfield-based Anderson Engineering Inc.

Jackson County is home to two of the defendants, Burns & McDonnell and Lee’s Summit-based engineers E.T. Archer Corp. According to the Kansas City Business Journal, the move is curious because Jackson County is known for awarding larger verdicts than more rural areas.

The 4-year-old airport filed a suit Aug. 1 against four contractors for an amount to be determined by a civil jury for damages related to subsurface failures, including a partial collapse of its runway and taxiway in 2011. BKG alleges faulty design and construction work conducted by the builders of its physical foundation and runway system has left the private airport susceptible to future damages.

In its original case filing, the airport states it has spent more than $750,000 for temporary repairs to the foundation and additional repairs “will require millions of dollars to complete.”

According to court records, Branson Airport stipulated to a change-of-venue request on Nov. 8 before the defendants made the same move Nov. 14 in what appears to be a sign the parties are in agreement. The defendants first requested a change of venue to Christian County on Sept. 25, and a host of related motions and objections followed before the plaintiff’s Nov. 8 stipulation. Through the actions, both parties have said they are prepared to take a judge assignment from the Kansas City Division of Judicial Circuit in Jackson County.

Taney County Circuit Court Judge Mark Orr had not ruled on the motion by deadline.

Branson Airport Executive Director Jeff Bourk declined to comment on the venue change, and Overland Park, Kan., attorney Stephen Torline, who represents BKG, did not reply by deadline.  

Anderson Engineering Inc. is listed among the defendants in the case for its work as geotechnical engineer, and Burns & McDonnell performed airport design work. Des Moines, Iowa-based general contractor McAninch Corp. and E.T. Archer Corp. are the other defendants listed in the case.