Three of Denver Mayor Mike Johnston’s top political appointees have been named in a lawsuit alleging retaliation for spotlighting concerns over the city’s Park Hill Golf Course land swap and its decision to vote down an airport lease with Key Lime Air.

Denver International Airport Executive Vice President and General Counsel Everett Ben Martinez filed a complaint Wednesday in federal court, suing the City and County of Denver, City Attorney Michiko “Miko” Brown, Chief Financial Officer Nicole Doheny and Johnston’s chief strategist Jeff Dolan.

In the 40-page lawsuit, Martinez alleges that the city and individual defendants retaliated against him for pleading with them to follow the strict legal mandates of the Federal Aviation Administration “in all aspects” of the Park Hill real estate deal. 

The suit also alleges that Johnston’s top brass had ambitions to boot Airport CEO Phil Washington.

Martinez repeatedly warned the defendants that violating FAA mandates could subject the city to “legal and potentially catastrophic financial penalties under the FAA revenue diversion rule,” according to a statement issued on behalf of Martinez’s legal representatives. 

Revenue diversion, as defined by the FAA, is the illegal use of airport-generated revenue, such as that from concessions, fuel sales and ground leases, for any non-airport use.

Martinez argues that Johnston’s appointees pushed for the 155-acre Park Hill Golf Course deal against his initial concerns that proper justification to the FAA might be required and that the intergovernmental agreement (IGA) “might require a public vote or a waiver.”

Instead of seeking a waiver, Martinez alleges Doheny and Dolan “decided the airport would sell the land to the city via an internal book transfer, and the city would immediately swap it to the developer.”

“We have executed a memorandum of understanding between DEN (Denver International Airport) and downtown to work through the book transfer so that we make everybody whole as it relates to FAA regulations,” City of Denver Real Estate Director Lisa Lumley stated at the April 29 Finance and Governance Committee meeting, adding that “this transaction does comply with all FAA rules.”

Late last year, the Denver City Council voted down a contract to expand Key Lime Air’s operations at Denver International Airport, citing disagreement with the company’s suspected operation of federal deportation flights on behalf of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

The contract rejected by the council was for a 1,200-square-foot expansion of the company’s current ground lease so that personnel could store equipment in their own space rather than in a common storage area shared by other operators on the ramp.

Martinez, in the lawsuit, stated he offered his legal opinion that voting down an airline agreement for any non-safety reason would be “an enormous problem, and it seemed some council members thought voting no would cost the airport only a single (federal) grant, which was not correct,” but could cost the City of Denver all grants going forward. 

Johnston spokesperson Jon Ewing told The Denver Gazette that the 40-page lawsuit was filed by a “disgruntled employee” and was without merit.

“Martinez has not been asked to violate the law or city policy,” Ewing said. “He has not been drawn into a conspiracy. What he has done is violate his ethical obligations to the city by taking positions in opposition to those held by his own client, the City and County of Denver, and by disclosing information protected by the attorney-client privilege.”