A Texas marketing company has filed a North Dakota district court action against the UND Aerospace Foundation asking for arbitration in a contract dispute over pilot training for students from Taiwan.

Aspenpacific Corp. of El Paso says the foundation has refused to pay commissions the company has coming for promoting UND's flight program and lining up students from China Airlines Ltd. Aspenpacific is asking more than $100,000, either in commissions it says it has coming or in judgments for alleged breaches of contracts and promises. John Odegard, president of the non-profit foundation and dean of the UND Center for Aerospace Sciences and Rex Hammarback, executive vice president of the foundation, said they were asked by attorneys to refrain from discussing the university's side of the case.

UND and its aerospace foundation are receiving about $83,000 in tuition per student from foreign airlines that have signed up for the intensive commercial pilot program. There are more than 100 students in the Grand Forks program now.

Aspenpacific says in its complaint, filed in Northeast Central Judicial District court on Friday, that it wants to continue a contract to promote the UND flight program and provide customers. It also wants compensation for past services. The El Paso firm says that the UND Aerospace Foundation refused to pay an Oct. 6, 1989, invoice of $100,200 for a class of 24 China Airlines students. The complaint says the foundation earlier had refused payment on commission invoices - one for $99,000 on Oct. 4, 1988, and another for $99,600 on July 32, 1989. Aspenpacific say it was entitled to commissions of at least 5 percent.

Grand Forks Herald, Wednesday, March 21, 1990