Management Group Investors sues DomRep’s airport operator for $8M
The lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Puerto Rico.
Puerto Rican company Management Group Investors (MGI) is suing Aeropuertos Dominicanos Siglo XXI S.A. (Aerodom) and its parent company, Vinci Airports S.A.S., in the Dominican Republic, for breach of contract and tortious interference.
The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Puerto Rico, involves disputes over agreements related to in-terminal and in-flight catering services at multiple Dominican airports. MGI is seeking $8 million in damages.
MGI, a limited liability company based in Carolina, operates food and beverage concessions through its subsidiary, Inversiones Llers S.R.L. (Llers), at several Dominican airports. These operations are overseen by two sub-concession agreements: one for in-terminal services signed in 2005 and another for in-flight catering services signed in 2021.
The agreements were intended to extend automatically if Aerodom’s main concession with the Dominican government was extended, according to the lawsuit assigned to Judge Pedro A. Delgado-Hernández.
Aerodom is the operator of several airports in the Dominican Republic, including the Las Américas International Airport José Francisco Peña Gómez, known as Aeropuerto Internacional Las Américas.
In 2020, Llers began significant investments at the airports, including constructing a new in-flight catering kitchen at Las Américas Airport. These investments, totaling more than $28 million, were made with the approval and encouragement of Aerodom and Vinci, according to the complaint.
The construction of the kitchen was completed in May, with operations scheduled to begin in July.
At the heart of the issue is the extension of the sub-concession agreements. According to MGI, both agreements included provisions that they would be automatically extended to match any extensions of Aerodom’s main concession. This was formalized in a May 2021 agreement and later incorporated into the 2005 in-terminal agreement through an addendum signed in August 2021.
In November 2023, Aerodom and the Dominican government extended the main concession until March 2060.
However, MGI alleges that Aerodom and Vinci have attempted to limit the extension of the sub-concession agreements to only five years, contrary to the agreed terms. This, according to MGI, constitutes a breach of contract and has led to “significant economic and operational disruptions.”
MGI claims that Aerodom and Vinci’s refusal to honor the agreed extensions has forced it to divert resources from its new in-flight kitchen operations, potentially impacting its commitments to various airlines and essential airport services.
The lawsuit asserts that Aerodom and Vinci’s actions are a concerted effort to circumvent their contractual obligations and interfere with MGI’s rights.
MGI seeks several remedies from the court, including permanent injunctive relief to enforce the contract terms and extend the sub-concession agreements to 2060.
