Judge raises questions whether citizen can file lawsuit against Turkia Mullin, Airport Authority

DETROIT (WXYZ) - The tangle of lawsuits involving union activist Robert Davis, former Airport CEO Turkia Mullin and the Wayne County Airport Authority landed once again before a judge today, with the judge raising questions as to whether or not Davis even has the legal standing to sue Mullin and the Airport.

"I characterize this as a citizen trying to inject himself into a lawsuit involving a former government employee and a government body," Judge Robert Colombo, Jr. said. "And generally that's not allowed, but we'll see how this plays out."

Mullin, who was fired as CEO of the airport last year, will be going after what was left on her contract, more than $700,000, claiming she was fired illegally and did nothing wrong to merit dismissal.

Her attorney, Ray Sterling, says he subpoenaed and received her employment file to help her case.

"There's nothing in there whatsoever indicating any cause for termination," Sterling said Friday. "There's not one bad word about her in that file."

But Robert Davis, a Wayne County employee, says because the judge already ruled the Airport Board violated Michigan law when it hired Mullin, her contract should be deemed invalid, and Mullin shouldn’t collect any money.

"Standing is a legitimate issue, I believe that Mr. Davis does have standing," says Andrew Paterson, the attorney representing Davis. "It's a very difficult legal issue."

Mullin’s attorney will file a motion to throw out Davis’ lawsuit, and today’s comments from the judge on whether or not Davis even has standing may be a boost to Mullin’s argument.

In the next month, arbitration will likely begin over whether or not Turkia Mullin is entitled to what was left on her airport contract when she was fired.