PORT OF SEATTLE 
MEMORANDUM 

COMMISSION AGENDA                   Item No.:          5g 
ACTION ITEM 
Date of Meeting:      December 7, 2010 
DATE:      December 7, 2010 
TO:         Tay Yoshitani, Chief Executive Officer 
FROM:     Craig Watson, General Counsel 
SUBJECT:   Settlement agreement resolving the matter of Navlet v. Port of Seattle, a class
action lawsuit filed by former employees of the Port of Seattle warehouse seeking
continuing health and welfare benefits. 
Amount of This Request:  $9,000,000.00 
ACTION REQUESTED: 
Authorization for the Chief Executive Officer to enter into a settlement agreement resolving the
matter of Navlet v. Port of Seattle, a class action lawsuit filed by former employees of the Port of
Seattle warehouse seeking continuing health and welfare benefits. 
BACKGROUND: 
The Port closed its warehouse operation in 2003, terminated the employees, and subsequently
terminated the Health and Welfare Trust covering the former employees. A class of former
warehouse employees took issue with the Port's decision to terminate medical benefits for
current and future retirees in the employee group. 
After the claim was dismissed at the trial court level the class appealed directly to the
Washington Supreme Court, and substantially prevailed on appeal. On remand from the
Washington Supreme Court there were a number of important issues to be resolved regarding
class membership and level of benefits, among others. 
The parties agreed to mediate the matter on November 29, 2010, and while no result was
obtained that day the parties continued to negotiate and have now come to agreement on a
settlement in the amount of Nine Million Dollars ($9,000,000.00). Of this amount
approximately $4 million represents past due amounts for the cost of coverage for the period 
2003  2010. The remainder is the estimated cost of future medical benefits for the class for the
lifetime of the class members. 
Both the firm of Davis Wright Tremaine and the Port's General Counsel recommend the
settlement as reasonable and justified under the circumstances.