American Lung Association settles with Northwest branch

SEATTLE – The American Lung Association has settled an eight-month legal dispute with its Seattle-based Northwest chapter and is getting back the $3.2 million regional headquarters the chapter had given to a newly created charity.

Under terms announced Thursday, the entire board of directors at the Northwest chapter will be replaced, and the new charity – which had been established by the chapter’s since-fired chief executive – will return the building deed and $500,000 to the American Lung Association.

“The American Lung Association will work with new leadership in the Northwest to ensure the continuity of Lung Association programs and services in Alaska, Idaho and Washington,” Stephen J. Nolan, chairman of the American Lung Association, said in a statement.

The American Lung Association accused the Northwest chapter of looting its assets.

A King County Superior Court judge determined that the Lung Association was likely to win its claim that the chapter breached its contract, and ordered the sides into mediation.

“I just can’t give you any comment at this point,” Laird Harris, chairman of the chapter’s board, said Thursday. “I’m sorry, but I can’t.”

The Northwest chapter was founded in 1906 and has been charged with carrying out the charity’s mission in Alaska, Idaho and Washington, including teen anti-smoking efforts, support of indoor smoking bans and fundraising bike rides and mountain climbs.