Snohomish County Council authorizes $750,000 settlement in Torrio lawsuit

After returning from an executive session, the Snohomish County Council authorized a $750,000 settlement for the plaintiff in Torrio v. Snohomish County and directed the county executive to execute the documents necessary to finalize the agreement in consultation with the prosecuting attorney's office.

Vice Chair Dunne moved the walk-on motion to authorize and approve the settlement agreement in the amount of $750,000 for the plaintiff in Torrio versus Snohomish County, King County Superior Court case number 22-2-09452-4 SEA. The motion—repeated on the record by Vice Chair Dunne—stated the agreement had been negotiated by the prosecuting attorney's office and asked the council to authorize the county executive to execute the documents necessary to memorialize the agreement in consultation with the prosecuting attorney.

The council conducted a voice vote after the motion; Vice Chair Dunne called for the vote, the assembly responded “Aye,” and no nays or abstentions were recorded on the audio transcript. The motion was adopted and the authorization was granted. The motion was introduced as a walk-on item immediately after the council returned from the executive session called under RCW 42.30.110 for potential litigation.

Heidi Pizzizzo, chief of staff in the county executive's office, informed the council before the executive session that the session was for potential litigation under RCW 42.30.110 and that the estimated duration was about 10 minutes with extensions announced during the administrative session. The meeting log records three announced extensions during the session before the council returned to open session and took the settlement vote.