lowecur
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- Sep 14, 2003
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It appears that the attorney representing the owners of the former Legend Airlines terminal has brought this backroom deal to it's knees. Bill Brewer, the $950. per hr flamboyant attorney representing the owners, was the catalyst. He payed lobbyists big bucks in DC to court law makers to listen to his side. It worked, as Sen Kay Bailey Hutch has all but thrown in the towel on getting through the bill in it's present form. Any compromise will certainly have to include gates being raised from the limited 20 wanted by both SWA and AMR to at least 26 to accomodate the sale of Legend Terminal. Of key interest will be whether the remaining 12 gates will be part of any new deal. Jetblue and a few other carriers will be watching closely.
imp:
Wright bill is latest fight for flashy Dallas lawyer
[SIZE=-1]08:26 PM CDT on Tuesday, September 12, 2006
[/SIZE]
[SIZE=-1]By BRENDAN M. CASE / The Dallas Morning News [/SIZE]
To many in North Texas, the June agreement to phase out the Wright amendment represented a historic accord on a highly contentious issue for the region. "There must be hope for world peace," quipped Herb Kelleher, Southwest Airlines Co.'s chairman. Who would dare challenge such a historic accord?
Dallas attorney Bill Brewer did, and three months later, the compromise deal is off the fast track. Later this week, the bill could face significant alterations from Washington lawmakers. "They were laughing us off as gadflies when we were first starting to say people should look at and debate this issue," said Mr. Brewer, 54, a flamboyant litigator renowned for turning court cases into complex, high-stakes melees.
Facing him were the combined forces of Dallas and Fort Worth; Southwest and American Airlines Inc.; Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport; and nearly all of North Texas' congressional delegation. "They thought they would have this done by Labor Day," said Mr. Brewer, in an interview in his office last week. "Hell, they thought they would have this done by July 4th."
Mr. Brewer represents Love Terminal Partners LP, which owns a terminal at Dallas Love Field that's set for demolition under the compromise. Rather than engage in the merits of keeping his client's six-gate terminal intact, Mr. Brewer took the opportunity to sideswipe the deal with antitrust questions.
In his perch above downtown, outfitted in a black suit accented with a bright pink necktie, Mr. Brewer argues the compromise is no good because it violates competition laws and won't lead to lower airfares.
This week, the House Judiciary Committee could attempt to alter the bill because of antitrust concerns. Its authority to review the bill expires Friday.
Dallas Mayor Laura Miller plans to meet with key senators today to lobby for the bill.
Even in a city known for flashiness, Mr. Brewer stands out from the crowd.
He bills at $950 an hour, steep even by the standards of top New York lawyers. His firm, Bickel & Brewer, has long prided itself on paying top dollar for talent. First-year associates earn $175,000 a year.
With offices in Dallas and New York, the firm quickly earned a reputation as a champion of legal hardball, not even granting opposing lawyers routine filing delays. Referred to as a "Rambo" firm in a reference on its own Web site, Bickel & Brewer has been sanctioned for hard-nosed tactics in depositions. Mr. Brewer says no partner has ever been sanctioned individually. Many Dallas lawyers decline to speak on the record about Mr. Brewer, citing the firm's reputation for aggressive litigation.
Before Mr. Brewer came forward in the Wright fight, the agreement appeared headed for smooth sailing. For years, critics of the 1979 Wright law argued that flight restrictions at Love resulted in higher airfares for North Texas, because American is so robust at D/FW and Southwest is hemmed in at its home airport.
Mr. Brewer agrees that the Wright law should be repealed. But he says the compromise only serves to enshrine dominant positions for American at D/FW and Southwest at Love. So he hired two Washington lobbying firms, in part to raise such concerns with key committees on Capitol Hill that oversee antitrust issues.
A Department of Justice memo outlining antitrust concerns surfaced in July, surprising supporters of the Wright bill. More recently, consumer groups and antitrust professors have spoken out against the bill. Backers of the Wright compromise on Capitol Hill remain hopeful that the bill will pass, but they've been visibly concerned about how to overcome the antitrust concerns.
They've also grudgingly acknowledged Mr. Brewer's lobbying efforts, which "have become the real fly in the ointment," according to Rep. Kenny Marchant, R-Coppell. "If the test of us being successful is pleasing those lawyers, I don't know how we do that," Mr. Marchant said. "But hopefully that's not the test." Mr. Brewer said the attention is exactly what he was looking for.
"We wanted to have these issues debated on a level playing field, and I think we're close to achieving that in both the Senate and the House," he said. "I also think the community is beginning to grapple with these issues."
'We won't pass the bill'
By DAVID WETHE
STAR-TELEGRAM STAFF WRITER
DALLAS -- The latest attack on the Wright Amendment compromise, which stripped antitrust immunity from the proposed legislation this week, is a potential deal breaker, said Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, R-Texas.
"We won't pass the bill in the form it came out of the Judiciary Committee," Hutchison told reporters Friday after a lunchtime speech in Dallas.
"We're not going to open up a can of worms. We'd have to bring the bill down. We couldn't pass it," she said.
On Wednesday, the House Judiciary Committee agreed to cut language that gave the bill protection from claims that it violates federal antitrust laws.
"What we're trying to do of course with this bill is create a certainty about what the rules are going to be in this area," Hutchison said.
"We couldn't attract new airlines, which we want to do to add competition, if they knew that this interpretation would have to go through years of litigation to know what the rules are going to be."
The committee's action was a victory for the owner of the former Legend Airlines terminal, which is slated for condemnation by Dallas. The owner, Love Terminal Partners, said talk of tearing it down killed an imminent deal to sell the vacant six-gate terminal for $100 million. Love Terminal has since sued the five local parties that struck a compromise on Wright -- American Airlines, Southwest Airlines, Fort Worth, Dallas and Dallas/Fort Worth Airport.
The deal calls for Dallas Love Field to shrink to 20 gates from 32, for through-ticketing to anywhere in the U.S. immediately and for lifting all Wright restrictions after eight years. Currently, the law limits flights from Dallas to Texas and eight nearby states.
The Love Terminal suit claims that the deal violates antitrust laws because it doesn't allow enough room for other airlines to compete at Love Field.
Several other airlines, as well as antitrust scholars, consumer groups and a neighborhood group near Love Field, have raised similar concerns.
The mayors of Dallas and Fort Worth and other key dealmakers from the airline and D/FW Airport have said the agreement has no antitrust violations.
Several versions of the Wright compromise bill are in Congress.
They must be reconciled and passed by the House and Senate before the end of the year, or the deal is dead, according to the local agreement.
Kevin Cox, D/FW's chief operating officer, stopped short of agreeing with Hutchison that the bill passed by the Judiciary Committee is a deal breaker.
"Obviously, if the senator is in charge of the Senate process and she feels that way, we will absolutely follow her," Cox said. "However, we're still hopeful that with her leadership and with the leadership of the House, we'll be able to find resolution on this."
The mayors could not be reached for comment Friday but said earlier this week that they didn't view the lack of antitrust immunity as a deal breaker. Dallas Mayor Laura Miller told the Star-Telegram on Wednesday that although she viewed it as a problem, there will be a way to work out the differences.
Hutchison has until Oct. 6 to work things out before lawmakers go home to campaign for the upcoming elections. They will return for a short, lame-duck session in November, but she said she's trying to get everything done now.
A bad bill is worse than no bill, Hutchison said. "But a good bill is the goal in September."
imp: Wright bill is latest fight for flashy Dallas lawyer
[SIZE=-1]08:26 PM CDT on Tuesday, September 12, 2006
[/SIZE]
[SIZE=-1]By BRENDAN M. CASE / The Dallas Morning News [/SIZE]
To many in North Texas, the June agreement to phase out the Wright amendment represented a historic accord on a highly contentious issue for the region. "There must be hope for world peace," quipped Herb Kelleher, Southwest Airlines Co.'s chairman. Who would dare challenge such a historic accord?
Dallas attorney Bill Brewer did, and three months later, the compromise deal is off the fast track. Later this week, the bill could face significant alterations from Washington lawmakers. "They were laughing us off as gadflies when we were first starting to say people should look at and debate this issue," said Mr. Brewer, 54, a flamboyant litigator renowned for turning court cases into complex, high-stakes melees.
Facing him were the combined forces of Dallas and Fort Worth; Southwest and American Airlines Inc.; Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport; and nearly all of North Texas' congressional delegation. "They thought they would have this done by Labor Day," said Mr. Brewer, in an interview in his office last week. "Hell, they thought they would have this done by July 4th."
Mr. Brewer represents Love Terminal Partners LP, which owns a terminal at Dallas Love Field that's set for demolition under the compromise. Rather than engage in the merits of keeping his client's six-gate terminal intact, Mr. Brewer took the opportunity to sideswipe the deal with antitrust questions.
In his perch above downtown, outfitted in a black suit accented with a bright pink necktie, Mr. Brewer argues the compromise is no good because it violates competition laws and won't lead to lower airfares.
This week, the House Judiciary Committee could attempt to alter the bill because of antitrust concerns. Its authority to review the bill expires Friday.
Dallas Mayor Laura Miller plans to meet with key senators today to lobby for the bill.
Even in a city known for flashiness, Mr. Brewer stands out from the crowd.
He bills at $950 an hour, steep even by the standards of top New York lawyers. His firm, Bickel & Brewer, has long prided itself on paying top dollar for talent. First-year associates earn $175,000 a year.
With offices in Dallas and New York, the firm quickly earned a reputation as a champion of legal hardball, not even granting opposing lawyers routine filing delays. Referred to as a "Rambo" firm in a reference on its own Web site, Bickel & Brewer has been sanctioned for hard-nosed tactics in depositions. Mr. Brewer says no partner has ever been sanctioned individually. Many Dallas lawyers decline to speak on the record about Mr. Brewer, citing the firm's reputation for aggressive litigation.
Before Mr. Brewer came forward in the Wright fight, the agreement appeared headed for smooth sailing. For years, critics of the 1979 Wright law argued that flight restrictions at Love resulted in higher airfares for North Texas, because American is so robust at D/FW and Southwest is hemmed in at its home airport.
Mr. Brewer agrees that the Wright law should be repealed. But he says the compromise only serves to enshrine dominant positions for American at D/FW and Southwest at Love. So he hired two Washington lobbying firms, in part to raise such concerns with key committees on Capitol Hill that oversee antitrust issues.
A Department of Justice memo outlining antitrust concerns surfaced in July, surprising supporters of the Wright bill. More recently, consumer groups and antitrust professors have spoken out against the bill. Backers of the Wright compromise on Capitol Hill remain hopeful that the bill will pass, but they've been visibly concerned about how to overcome the antitrust concerns.
They've also grudgingly acknowledged Mr. Brewer's lobbying efforts, which "have become the real fly in the ointment," according to Rep. Kenny Marchant, R-Coppell. "If the test of us being successful is pleasing those lawyers, I don't know how we do that," Mr. Marchant said. "But hopefully that's not the test." Mr. Brewer said the attention is exactly what he was looking for.
"We wanted to have these issues debated on a level playing field, and I think we're close to achieving that in both the Senate and the House," he said. "I also think the community is beginning to grapple with these issues."
'We won't pass the bill'
By DAVID WETHE
STAR-TELEGRAM STAFF WRITER
DALLAS -- The latest attack on the Wright Amendment compromise, which stripped antitrust immunity from the proposed legislation this week, is a potential deal breaker, said Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, R-Texas.
"We won't pass the bill in the form it came out of the Judiciary Committee," Hutchison told reporters Friday after a lunchtime speech in Dallas.
"We're not going to open up a can of worms. We'd have to bring the bill down. We couldn't pass it," she said.
On Wednesday, the House Judiciary Committee agreed to cut language that gave the bill protection from claims that it violates federal antitrust laws.
"What we're trying to do of course with this bill is create a certainty about what the rules are going to be in this area," Hutchison said.
"We couldn't attract new airlines, which we want to do to add competition, if they knew that this interpretation would have to go through years of litigation to know what the rules are going to be."
The committee's action was a victory for the owner of the former Legend Airlines terminal, which is slated for condemnation by Dallas. The owner, Love Terminal Partners, said talk of tearing it down killed an imminent deal to sell the vacant six-gate terminal for $100 million. Love Terminal has since sued the five local parties that struck a compromise on Wright -- American Airlines, Southwest Airlines, Fort Worth, Dallas and Dallas/Fort Worth Airport.
The deal calls for Dallas Love Field to shrink to 20 gates from 32, for through-ticketing to anywhere in the U.S. immediately and for lifting all Wright restrictions after eight years. Currently, the law limits flights from Dallas to Texas and eight nearby states.
The Love Terminal suit claims that the deal violates antitrust laws because it doesn't allow enough room for other airlines to compete at Love Field.
Several other airlines, as well as antitrust scholars, consumer groups and a neighborhood group near Love Field, have raised similar concerns.
The mayors of Dallas and Fort Worth and other key dealmakers from the airline and D/FW Airport have said the agreement has no antitrust violations.
Several versions of the Wright compromise bill are in Congress.
They must be reconciled and passed by the House and Senate before the end of the year, or the deal is dead, according to the local agreement.
Kevin Cox, D/FW's chief operating officer, stopped short of agreeing with Hutchison that the bill passed by the Judiciary Committee is a deal breaker.
"Obviously, if the senator is in charge of the Senate process and she feels that way, we will absolutely follow her," Cox said. "However, we're still hopeful that with her leadership and with the leadership of the House, we'll be able to find resolution on this."
The mayors could not be reached for comment Friday but said earlier this week that they didn't view the lack of antitrust immunity as a deal breaker. Dallas Mayor Laura Miller told the Star-Telegram on Wednesday that although she viewed it as a problem, there will be a way to work out the differences.
Hutchison has until Oct. 6 to work things out before lawmakers go home to campaign for the upcoming elections. They will return for a short, lame-duck session in November, but she said she's trying to get everything done now.
A bad bill is worse than no bill, Hutchison said. "But a good bill is the goal in September."
