Carmen Rodgers
Elmore Autauga News
Circuit Judge James “Luke” Farmer continued a hearing today on the defendants’ motions to dismiss in the case of J.W. Patterson Jr. v. The City of Tallassee after attorneys for both sides presented arguments in court.
The lawsuit stems from the City’s sale of the Tallassee Municipal Airport to Mavhawk LLC, represented locally by Patrick Taylor, for $615,000 in October 2025. The airport had been closed to the public since 2018.
Defense attorney Rick Howard argued that Patterson lacked legal standing to challenge the transaction because he has no ownership or other legally protected interest in the property.
“He doesn’t own the property, he didn’t sell the property, he has no stake in the property,” Howard said.
In response, Patterson, through his attorney, argued the City failed to comply with laws governing the sale of municipal property. According to the plaintiff’s attorney, the City was required to declare the airport property surplus before completing the sale but failed to do so.
To support his argument that Patterson has standing to bring the lawsuit, the plaintiff’s attorney cited City of Bessemer v. Huey, a 1945 Alabama Supreme Court decision involving a Bessemer taxpayer who challenged the city’s lease of a public auditorium to a private individual. In that decision, the court stated, “Without doubt the complainant, as a resident and taxpayer of the City of Bessemer, has the right to maintain the bill of complaint.” The plaintiff argued the ruling establishes that a resident taxpayer has standing to challenge a municipality’s disposition of public property, even without owning the property.
Attorneys representing Mavhawk LLC and Patrick Taylor also filed motions seeking dismissal of the claims against their clients, arguing they should not remain parties to the case.
Judge Farmer took the motions under advisement and continued the matter without issuing an immediate ruling.
