Gates cleared in airport contract suit

County Commissioner Yvonne Atkinson Gates was dismissed today as a defendant in a District Court lawsuit over the airport contract for a coffee concession that was yanked for what is alleged to have been political motives.

District Judge Michael Cherry, however, ruled that Clark County and the Department of Aviation, which runs McCarran International Airport, should remain in the case that is now set for trial May 2.

Cherry said that while Las Vegas Gourmet Coffee Co. and its owner, Gary Naseef, can justify going to trial against the county and Host Marriott Services Corp., which controls McCarran concessions, he said he was "real nervous" about keeping Gates in the case.

He said he had "a lot of trouble" seeing why Gates and McCarran executive Cynthia Cicero should be forced to personally defend what is in essence a contract case against the county and Host Marriott.

After today's hearing, Gates commented, "this is the first hurdle in clearing my name and reputation."

"Today justice truly has been served," Gates said. "People can tell lies and there is nothing you can do, but today the system proved a good point."

The controversy involved the granting of the contract to Las Vegas Gourmet Coffee in 1995 as a Disadvantaged Business Enterprise when it never managed to obtain certification for that standing.

A DBE is a company owned by a minority or a female, and federal regulations require 10 percent of airport business to fall into that category to qualify for federal funds.

Naseef's wife, Jackie Turner, was part owner and the reason the business was granted the DBE status, but the marriage dissolved.

The lawsuit alleged that Gates improperly forced Host Marriott to terminate the Las Vegas Gourmet Coffee contract when DBE certification couldn't be obtained.

Naseef's attorney, Jeff McCune, conceded that the "political" nature of the case has left a thin trail of evidence to support Naseef's position that he was treated unfairly.

But he urged the judge to let the case go forward and force public officials to tell their stories on the witness stand under oath.

County attorney James Silvestri argued that the officials have given sworn depositions denying any conspiracy and the only bit of evidence is "hearsay upon hearsay upon hearsay" from Naseef that is inadmissible at trial.

But Cherry decided that disputes over facts in the case justifies going forward with a trial.

The judge also ruled that the county may be liable for punitive damages above the governmental $50,000 "cap" if a jury finds the county had stepped over the legal line.

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