PrivateSky Aviation, the lone FBO at Southwest Florida International Airport (KRSW), has initiated a lawsuit against Signature Aviation; its CEO, Tony Lefebvre; and others claiming breach of contract and fraud.
According to the suit filed this week in the Ninth Judicial Circuit in Florida, Signature approached PrivateSky in 2022 under the pretext of submitting an offer to purchase it and requested to review the service provider’s financial information.
With KRSW issuing an RFP for a second service provider on the field, PrivateSky was wary of disclosing sensitive information to a potential rival, but the lawsuit states that Signature made many representations that it sought the data only for considering a potential purchase and would use it for no other purposes. As evidence, the legal document cited an email from a Signature executive stating, “As I mentioned, we have no intention of starting an FBO in Lee County.”
The legal action claims Signature violated the agreement's confidentiality clause when it issued a proposal to the airport for a new FBO by leveraging Private Sky’s information. “Signature never made an offer to Private Sky,” the lawsuit states, “it made an offer to RSW instead.”
Signature responded to AIN: “We believe the lawsuit is without merit and are confident the facts will demonstrate this as the matter proceeds through the appropriate legal channels.”