The airport Mobil has been closed and decommissioned. But the legal battles between the Martha’s Vineyard Airport Commission and former Airport Fuel Services owner Michael Rotondo continue.

A Dukes County superior court judge ruled last week that the airport commission is likely to prevail in its legal case to collect additional rent from Mr. Rotondo.

On August 4 the Hon. Mitchell Kaplan, an associate justice of the superior court, ordered Mr. Rotondo to deposit $21,000 in rent, and an additional $5,000 in legal fees and costs, into an escrow account, to be held until the litigation is complete.

Mr. Rotondo lost the lease for his property in March, when the airport commission awarded a lease to another bidder. An extended lease expired May 16, but Mr. Rotondo continued to operate his Mobil station until July 17. Facing a July 31 deadline for a court ordered eviction, and unable to negotiate an agreement with the new leaseholder for the station infrastructure, Mr. Rotondo demolished the buildings and removed the fuel tanks.

In his order last week, Judge Kaplan wrote that the airport commission is unlikely to recover legal fees associated with the eviction proceeding. The commission asked the judge to order an additional $50,000 be put into escrow to cover those costs, but the judge declined.

Originally, the airport commission asked the judge to freeze Mr. Rotondo’s bank accounts, saying it would seek in excess of $450,000 in legal fees, rent and damages.

An estimated $200,000 of that amount was to remove the buildings, a point that became moot when Mr. Rotondo removed the infrastructure himself. Judge Kaplan declined to order that amount be put into escrow.

The commission is also seeking $175,000 in “unjust enrichment,” the net profit it estimates Mr. Rotondo earned while operating the Mobil station after his lease expired.

Judge Kaplan wrote the airport commission also is not likely to prevail in that claim, so he declined to order that amount be put into escrow while the lawsuit continues.