We’ve talked about why the SkyLink people mover at LAX is so important, and exactly what it will look like. But as nice is it is to talk about that, it’s time to get down and dirty in the mud. We have a lawsuit filed by the consortium of contractors on this project, LINXS, against the City of Los Angeles which runs LAX through Los Angeles World Airports (LAWA). So now we get look under the hood and see what’s going on.
This lawsuit has been in the works for a long time. The rules for suing Los Angeles required you to file a government claim before you sue. The city can either accept the claim, reject it, or do nothing. There was no chance the city was going to accept this. If it did nothing for 45 days, then a two-year window would open during which LINXS could sue the city. LA did not do that. It outright rejected the claim on January 21 of this year. When that happened, LINXS had a six-month window open to sue. It waited until the end of that window, but it did file what I assume will be the first of many lawsuits on July 9. (If you’d like to follow along, you can search the docket at the LA Superior Court using case number 26TRCV02456.)
So what is LINXS’s beef? If only there was just one issue. LINXS has a laundry list of complaints, so we might as well talk through them all if, for no other reason, just for the sheer entertainment value.
The Problematic Metering Cabinet
Connecting the people mover with electricity is a very complicated process. There are sub-stations which receive power through LA’s Department of Water and Power (DWP), and then at some point there is a join where DWP’s work meets LINXS’s. There are metering cabinets in multiple places which measure the usage, just like at your house.
One of these metering cabinets has become a flashpoint. According to the lawsuit, these metering cabinets were not in scope for LINXS to design, build or really do anything, yet it seems that LINXS (“Developer” in the lawsuit) actually did the work anyway for some reason. Here’s how the lawsuit says it:
LAWA has alleged that Developer procured the Metering Cabinets at issue from Pioneer Power Solutions and had them installed, but, in any event, the Metering Cabinets were not in Developer’s contractual scope of Work.
I find it very funny that LINXS says LAWA has alleged this, but it doesn’t confirm it nor does it deny. It just says it doesn’t matter if LINXS did the work, because it wasn’t supposed to. That’s… a strategy.
Anyway, DWP screwed up, as those who live in Los Angeles won’t be surprised to hear. They didn’t have big enough cables to provide electricity, so in September 2024 they fixed the problem which required going into the metering cabinet to connect the cables. Apparently “within days,” the metering cabinet failed.
In January 2025, DWP apparently heard a noise coming from the cabinet, so it opened it up and found “moisture and debris” in there. Now, LINXS says this could have only happened when DWP opened it up to fix the cables. Why? Because DWP locked the cabinet and didn’t give LINXS a key. Apparently, LINXS doesn’t think it’s possible that this could have been manufactured or installed wrong, assuming it would admit it actually did install it in the first place.
Meanwhile, DWP had to cut power from February to July 2025 to allow — wait for it — LINXS to fix the thing, so LINXS thought it deserved a project completion date extension. LAWA said no, and because of that, it could withhold a $115 million progress payment. I won’t get into the weeds on why, but as you can imagine, LINXS doesn’t like that one bit.
This dispute went to what’s called a “project neutral,” who is supposed to quickly help settle disputes. The project neutral agreed with LINXS, but it turns out, the project neutral has never once agreed with LAWA. It sounds like this person may not be so neutral. (For more on this, I highly recommend watching this video.)
As if that’s not enough, LINXS says that it has uncovered that LAWA knew this was DWP’s fault the whole time and it was a big cover up.
So, that’s… one issue.
Other Contractors Ruin Everything
LINXS has been working in its project area at LAX for many, many years now. As the years go by, more unrelated projects need to get started in that area, but LINXS says they should all stay out of the way. They aren’t doing that. Even more than that, LINXS goes dramatic by saying some of its work has been destroyed. What happened? Apparently some work by other contractors on 96th St resulted in “damaged Developer installed irrigation lines and valves, as well as planters, shrubs and trees.”
Sounds a lot less dramatic that way, huh? And also, I will point out, this is landscaping. How this prevents them from running a train, I have no idea. But wait, there’s more. See, these contractors working in the LINXS project area is a safety issue. And yes, something has happened.
“…one of LAWA’s Other Contractors, in the process of demolishing a glass lighting pylon, ejected shards of thick glass plate onto the guideway over which the People Mover vehicles travel. Fortunately, no workers were on the tracks at the time, and the vehicles were not being tested in the area showered by glass.
Right, well, I’m going to assume that this other contractor probably made sure nobody was around when it decided to demolish a glass pylon. LINXS seems to want to use this as leverage by now slowing down other projects to run as slowly as its own.
Oh, and I almost forgot another favorite. LINXS says other contractors are stealing its electrical power! Sounds like someone needs to talk to DWP.
The Drawing Scandal
A sub-contractor for LINXS submitted some drawings to the city for approval for some roadway construction work. And then, SCANDAL.
According to LINXS, somebody “altered and resubmitted” these drawings and “deleted certain elements of the roadway work….” Wanna guess who LINXS blames? That’s right, it says LAWA did it. But why?
Developer is informed and believes, and based on that information and belief alleges, that LAWA was behind the resubmission of the [engineer’s] roadway drawings, and the purpose was to obtain permits for a reduced scope of roadway work so that LAWA could attempt to declare (wrongfully) that Developer’s work in certain areas is complete, such that LAWA’s Other Contractors could work in those areas.
So, LAWA wants to reduce the scope and help the project reach completion faster, but now LINXS doesn’t want that? Make up your mind, people. Do you want to finish this thing or not?
But wait, there’s more. Because the updated drawings still had the original engineer’s seal and signature, LINXS says this is now a criminal issue.
Don’t Be a Blocker
LINXS says that LAWA is blocking simple things, and that’s preventing the project from being finished. This is like two kids fighting.
- There is a solar farm which will power the people mover but also send power back to the grid. To connect this with DWP, “the customer” needs to sign a document. LINXS says LAWA needs to sign, but LAWA says LINXS needs to sign.
- LINXS is supposed to be doing some street/landscape work which includes installing irrigation. LINXS says it did that, but it had no responsibility after building it. The work is done, but LAWA never applied to DWP to turn on the irrigation.
- There was a requirement that LINXS put together a cybersecurity plan. It did that, and then it submitted some modifications which it called minor clarifications. LAWA said the intrusion detection system was removed, but LINXS said that didn’t happen. Oh, and crucially, “LAWA complained that a word was missing at the end of a sentence that was unrelated to the substance of the [plan].”
- LINXS submitted a test plan for a surveillance system. LAWA said it had issues with it, but LINXS said that’s crap.
Clock’s a Tickin’
So, here we are. And while they fight this out over some seemingly stupid things — just look at how many of these actually involve the SkyLink train itself — the clock is ticking.
If LINXS doesn’t have this thing ready by October 8, then lenders can call the loan. While it doesn’t definitively say so, the implication is clear. LINXS will go bankrupt, and it wants LAWA to know that will be bad news for LAWA. As of now, the projected opening date is November, so, uh, something’s gotta give.
See, if LINXS goes bankrupt, then LAWA will apparently have to pay a ~$900 million termination payment, and the airport will have to find a new operator which LINXS says will cost a lot more. Why would a new operator be needed? Well, this is a deal that spans decades and includes the actual operation of the people mover for many years to come, not just its construction.
If this all sounds bad, just wait. LINXS has already submitted another batch of government claims on June 5, and these were rejected by the city on July 7. So, the six month clock is now ticking for a whole new round of lawsuits.
Meanwhile, millions of travelers have to sit there and wait just to get a damn train.
