HOUSTON – The dispute at Hobby Airport between the Pappas family and City of Houston was set to continue, but for now, the hearing is on hold.
Attorneys representing Pappas withdrew their request for temporary injunction after it was reported that their witnesses were not present, including Mayor Sylvester Turner’s Office.
This comes after a lawsuit was filed this month over alleged “inappropriate contact” by Mayor Turner.
As KPRC 2′s Mario Diaz reported, the Pappas family filed a lawsuit on April 12 after Pappas said the city violated state law as well as city codes. Pappas also said there was inappropriate contact by the Houston mayor’s office during what was a designated “no contact period” in the bidding process.
The move comes just over a month after Houston City Council voted on a new concessions package awarding Areas Group the spaces currently occupied by the Houston-based restaurant company at Hobby Airport.
After Wednesday’s court appearance, representatives from the city and Areas Group declined to comment. Pappas’ attorney Rachel Hooper explained why they wanted a temporary injunction hearing.
“The reason why we did that is because the necessary witnesses who made the decision on this government procurement are not in our city. In fact, they’re not in our country right now, and so we need these witnesses. We need access to them. We need testimony from them to make our case,” Hooper said.
Pappas will be able to file for a temporary injunction at a later date.
RELATED CONTENT:
Pappas files lawsuit against city following controversial awarding of Hobby concessions contract
Pappas restaurant group fires back at city of Houston over its future at Hobby Airport