Codoni v Port of Seattle

2026-09-26
High profile Sea-Tac air pollution class action lawsuit grounded by Ninth Circuit

Clean Air Act preempts state claims over aircraft pollution After three years, a widely-promoted class action lawsuit on behalf of residents around Sea-Tac Airport has finally been heard in federal court. The September 23 opinion by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals is not good. The original complaint tried to hold the Port of Seattle,

CategoriesLitigation, News StoriesTagsCodoni v Port of Seattle, Hagens-Berman, Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals
2026-09-23
Codoni v. Port Of Seattle, No. 25-2830 (9th Cir. 2026)

Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals published opinion in Codoni v. Port of Seattle, No. 25-2830 (D.C. No. 2:23-cv-00795-JNW), filed September 23, 2026, authored by Judge Paez, reversing the Western District of Washington (Judge Jamal N. Whitehead) denial of defendants’ motion to dismiss. Plaintiffs Cindy Codoni, Michelle Geer, Horace Cathcart, Amy France, and Tamara Chakos, residents

TagsAlaska Air, Clean Air Act, Codoni v Port of Seattle, Delta, Hagens-Berman, Ninth Circuit Court of AppealsFolderHagens-Berman

Upcoming Events

Part 150 NCP Workshop — Burien
Add to CalendarMSaturday Oct 17: 10:00am

Attend a Port of Seattle open house on the Part 150 Study Noise Compatibility Program (NCP). The Part 150 program determines the noise boundary around the airport and opportunities for noise mitigation such as sound insulation.
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Part 150 NCP Workshop — SeaTac
Add to CalendarMMonday Oct 19: 6:00pm

Attend a Port of Seattle open house on the Part 150 Study Noise Compatibility Program (NCP). The Part 150 program determines the noise boundary around the airport and opportunities for noise mitigation such as sound insulation.
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Part 150 NCP Workshop — Des Moines
Add to CalendarMTuesday Oct 20: 6:00pm

Attend a Port of Seattle open house on the Part 150 Study Noise Compatibility Program (NCP). The Part 150 program determines the noise boundary around the airport and opportunities for noise mitigation such as sound insulation.
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As the source for federal transportation grants, the Puget Sound Regional Council was charged with developing a system to meet the growing need for commercial aviation. When the search for a second airport failed, they authorized the Port of Seattle to build the Third Runway, with a mandate to develop a noise abatement and mitigation program. In their effort to stop the Third Runway, the ACC argued over every detail of the Port's efforts--including property buyouts and sound insulation. The dispute was meant to be settled by a three member Expert Arbitration Panel. This is their final report. It finds 2-1, that the Port's program was insufficient in several respects. Despite that, funding for the Third Runway was approved by the PSRC, and the 'Port Package' program, proceeded largely unchanged. Expert Arbitration Panel's final decision finding that the Port of Seattle had not shown sufficient reduction in real on-the-ground noise impacts to satisfy noise reduction conditions required for approval of a third runway at Sea-Tac International Airport. The majority decision concluded the Port's noise abatement programs were insufficient despite being impressive in scope.

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