Amid drone fears, enthusiasts square off with U-M over campus ban

• Drone operators contend a ban on drones over U-M airspace is illegal
• The group aims to set precedent prohibiting all local governments and other public entities from banning drones
• The lawsuit comes amid a raft of conspiracy theories prompted by reported ‘drone’ sightings on the East Coast

As flying objects in New Jersey inspire widespread concerns about drones, the Michigan Court of Claims is preparing to weigh in on a longstanding battle between drone enthusiasts and public entities that have banned the remote-controlled aircraft.

On Tuesday, the court will hear arguments in a lawsuit that aims to overturn a University of Michigan ban on flying drones above university property without special permission. 

It’s the latest in a series of cases brought by the Michigan Coalition of Drone Operators, which hopes to stop all Michigan local governments, universities and other public bodies from banning drones.

A lawyer for the group called such bans “authoritarian overreach” that needlessly targets hobbyists and professionals, such as real estate photographers who make a living taking aerial photos of houses.

“It’s the same thing as if the University of Michigan said to Delta Air Lines, every time you take off in Detroit, you can't overfly any of our property,” said attorney Dean Greenblatt. “You just can't do that … safety and security is already regulated by the federal government.”

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Michigan’s drone fight comes as residents and politicians in New Jersey and nationwide express alarm about recent reports of unidentified flying objects in the night sky.

Oakland County Sheriff Michael Bouchard released a statement Monday calling on the federal government to empower law enforcement agencies to enforce federal laws governing drone use and take action when drones pose a threat. 

“There is a near unanimous belief amongst law enforcement and Department of Homeland Security professionals that we need to have state-of-the-art drone detection and counter-drone capabilities, Bouchard said. “Whether it is a nation-state adversary or a lone individual, the threat is real, and it is here now.”

Federal officials have said there is no national security threat and that many of the reported sightings turned out to be legally operated manned aircraft. Nonetheless, the incidents have prompted a raft of theories blaming foreign spies, extraterrestrial beings, the US government, or even the two major political parties.

In Michigan, the drone coalition has repeatedly sued public entities to overturn their drone bans, citing regulatory pre-emption by the Federal Aviation Administration and a state law that prohibits “political subdivisions” from regulating drone ownership or operation.

U-M has filed a motion to dismiss the case. Office staff for Thomas Kent, associate general counsel for U-M and its lead lawyer on the case, redirected a Bridge Michigan reporter to university spokespeople, who did not immediately respond to a call and email.

Several Michigan universities and many more local public bodies have drone bans or restrictions on the books. This is not the first time the coalition has sued in hopes of banning the bans.

It previously won suits against Genesee County Parks Commission and Ottawa County. But both rulings applied at the local level, which sent the drone group looking for another case that could set statewide precedent.

U-M owns property in nearly every Michigan county, and Greenblatt said he anticipates that whichever side loses the Court of Claims suit will seek a rehearing before the Michigan Court of Appeals, where rulings have statewide effect.

While the two sides prepare to square off in Michigan, a number of reported drone sightings on the East Coast continue to climb. 

Greenblatt, the drone group lawyer, said it’s “not a situation that’s beneficial” to the lawful drone operators that he represents.

“We’d prefer not to have this type of negative attention because every uninformed citizen now has an unreasonable fear, perhaps, of a lot of aviation activity,” he said.

Michigan State Police spokesperson Shanon Banner said the agency has not received any recent drone-sighting reports.