The Allegheny County Airport Authority has taken SkySafe, Inc. to federal court, asking a judge to declare that a $360,000 contract for drone-detection technology at Pittsburgh International Airport is null and void — and that the airport owes the California company nothing. The authority contends the deal was signed by an employee who never had the authority to enter into it in the first place.
According to TribLIVE, Pittsburgh International's director of airport security, Valerie Townsend, agreed to a three-year contract with SkySafe in June 2025. SkySafe is a San Diego-based technology company that offers airport drone defense systems designed to detect drones in real time and analyze them for potential threats, per the same report. The airport authority filed its complaint in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania on Thursday, a filing confirmed by court records reviewed on PacerMonitor, which lists the case as number 2:26-cv-02106 and classifies it under nature-of-suit code 890 for other statutory actions.
Who Had the Authority to Sign?
Per the complaint, airport authority board approval is required for any contract exceeding $150,000, and Christina Cassotis is the only airport official authorized to enter contracts under that threshold on her own. The lawsuit contends the SkySafe agreement is null and void because Townsend lacked proper authorization to sign it — and the article notes that Townsend herself acknowledged her lack of signatory authority, per the complaint.
The airport authority also disputes how much use it actually got out of the arrangement. The complaint states Pittsburgh International never employed SkySafe's products beyond a single training session, the report notes. Despite that limited use, SkySafe sent several invoices tied to the contract, and the two sides failed to negotiate a mutually acceptable agreement to resolve the dispute, per the complaint.
A $265,269 Default Notice
Tensions escalated on Aug. 25, when SkySafe sent the airport authority a notice of default. That notice reportedly requested $265,269 plus interest. In response, the airport authority is now asking the court for two declaratory judgments: one finding the contract unenforceable, and another finding that it does not owe SkySafe any money at all.
PacerMonitor's docket, last updated Sept. 24 at 11:59 p.m. EDT, shows the complaint required a $405 filing fee, including an administrative fee. Jared Hawk, airport counsel at Pittsburgh-based Saul Ewing LLP, is listed as the attorney representing the Allegheny County Airport Authority in the filing. Hawk did not respond to a request for comment, the outlet reports.
Airport Declines to Discuss Pending Case
Bob Kerlik said Pittsburgh International Airport does not comment on pending litigation, according to the same account. That leaves the dispute to play out in court filings for now, with no ruling, hearing date, or response from SkySafe yet part of the public record.
