Port Attorney Duane E. Bennett Retiring

Friday, 04 November 2011
Contact: Barbara Moreno (619) 686-6216, John Gilmore (619) 686-7206

Six months after Duane E. Bennett became the Port of San Diego's chief attorney, his office was out of money.

"I ran through my budget and it was all due to litigation costs," said Bennett, who joined the agency on May 5, 2003.

What he did to solve the financial problem has changed the way the Port of San Diego does business. Bennett forged new ground, integrating finance into his legal responsibilities.

The attorney, whose legal career began nearly 30 years ago, employed a novel strategy for litigating certain cases – he sought the advice of an "insurance archaeologist."

Insurance archaeologists investigate into old insurance policies to see if they are still in force. Liabilities associated with the policies may occur years after the policies are obtained. Once a triggering event occurs, the search is on to see if a policy was ever taken out for such an event.

Through this process, Bennett's office has achieved over $91.6 million in insurance related litigation recoveries and settlements for the Port District. Overall, including insurance related awards and settlements, his office has produced in excess of $125 million.

Developing a lucrative insurance reimbursement practice will be Bennett's legacy at the Port of San Diego. He is retiring as Port Attorney in December 2011.

Bennett will be recognized at the November 8, 2011, session of the Board of Port Commissioners monthly meeting. He will be presented with a proclamation in his honor at the meeting which begins at 1 p.m.

The meeting will be held in the Board Room of the Port District administration building, 3165 Pacific Highway in San Diego (map).

"I always refer to the Port Attorney's Office as a profit center," said Port District CFO and Treasurer Jeff McEntee. "For many years, under Duane's excellent and resourceful leadership, the Port Attorney's Office has supplemented the Port District's revenues which helped us navigate the rough waters of the recession."

McEntee said the insurance reimbursement process that Bennett put into place "will survive as Duane sails off to other grand endeavors."

Attorney, Revenue Generator

Bennett joined the Port District shortly after the California State Legislature approved a measure to split the Port of San Diego from the San Diego International Airport.

"The first thing we had to deal with is, 'How do you separate from the airport?' And right off the bat, we got into litigation," Bennett said.

Defending that lawsuit, and others, proved costly, and the challenge for Bennett was to figure a way to cover the legal bills.

He opted to pursue coverage from old insurance policies – the same strategy he used while city attorney in Oceanside. There he secured nearly $400,000 in insurance coverage to cover the cost of an environmental cleanup.

"We used some old historic insurance policies to get coverage," Bennett said.

The search for the Port District's historic policies began in the basement of its Pacific Highway headquarters, where thousands of documents had been stored. Policies dating to the 1960s and 1970s were located, and the insurance archaeologist went to work analyzing the policies' coverage.

"Someone was brilliant here," Bennett said of the past decisions by the Port District executives to purchase the policies. "They bought all this great insurance that covered claims against the Port District and the policies had no pollution exclusions. Modern-day policies exclude such things, but these old policies covered everything."

The Port of San Diego was facing multi-million dollar cleanup costs for the former Campbell Shipyard, where the Hilton San Diego Bayfront Hotel is now located. Through insurance coverage for the Port District and the City of San Diego, the Port District negotiated a settlement that totaled $20 million.

That money helped cover the cleanup costs at the site.

Legal Eagle

Bennett was still serving as the City of Oceanside City Attorney when an executive search firm contacted him about the port job.

"The thing that intrigued me about the Port District was that it was a big player in the region," he said. "It has a lot of diverse interests – maritime, environmental issues, real estate – and the thing that distinguishes the port is that it can make money. I thought I could grow as an attorney."

Bennett came to San Diego County in 1992, when he was hired to work as an assistant city attorney for Oceanside. In 1998, he became the Oceanside City Attorney, the county's first black city attorney.

While in Oceanside, Bennett and the city's former treasurer, Rosemary Jones, were in the public eye when the pair – led by Jones – exposed an international investment scheme. The city was considering investing in the funds which promised returns for the city to 130 percent a month. An investigation by the Securities and Exchange Commission subsequently declared the investment was fraudulent.

Jones was credited with bringing the scam to the attention of the city council. Bennett was among the few city officials who supported Jones while cautioning the council about the investment.

Tough Neighborhood

Bennett grew up in South Central Los Angeles, in what he terms the heart of the "hood." He said his early years helped shape who he is today.

"I think growing up there developed my interest in the law," Bennett said. "What I saw was poverty, neglect. I saw my people disenfranchised and discrimination bothered me. The lack of respect bothered me. I just wanted to fight it."

That experience left Bennett wanting to help those who could not help themselves.

After getting his law degree from the University of California Davis, Bennett began his public service career that spans 28 years. He's been an attorney working in Orange and Riverside counties. He's served as a consulting attorney for several cities, including Banning, Inglewood, Cleveland and Santa Ana. For a time he was called in to work with lawyers for Rodney King, whose beating by four Los Angeles police officers in 1991 raised tensions between the black community and the Los Angeles Police Department.

"The Rodney King case was an important pivotal case to society and for law enforcement to ensure that law enforcement acts appropriately," Bennett said. "I think law enforcement has ultimately been improved through that experience."

Working Retirement

While he may be retiring from the Port District, Bennett is not retiring from practicing law. He will go into private practice and continue teaching as an adjunct professor at California Western School of Law. He will continue his mediation and arbitration work.

He will depart from the Port District in late December, and as he does, he made it a point to acknowledge those who he has worked with.

"I really am truly thankful for the people I work with," Bennett said. "All the people have been very supportive. The Board of Port Commissioners has been supportive and Port President and CEO Wayne Darbeau has always been a great sounding board."

Chairman of the Board of Port Commissioners Scott Peters praised Bennett's work as well as his legacy.

"Duane E. Bennett has established a reputation as one of the finest public agency attorneys in California," Peters said. "His combination of intelligence, experience, diligence and his strategic thinking are unique and of great value to the Port District and our entire region."

Peters added, "Not only has Duane been a great defender of the Port District, he has become a revenue generator through his masterful handling of our environmental insurance claims. And just as important, Duane has a warmth and sense of humor that make him a pleasure to work with. We will all miss him here, and we congratulate him on his retirement and wish him and his family the very best.

Port President and CEO Wayne Darbeau said Bennett will leave a lasting impact on the organization.

"Duane Bennett is leaving behind a powerful legacy as an agent of positive change as reflected in the vast body of legal work that was accomplished under his active leadership role as the Port Attorney," said Darbeau. "He will be missed by us all."

His co-workers, like Assistant Port Attorney Celia Brewer, are sad to see him go, but credit him for inspiring them.

"Duane Bennett is pretty unique. That's one of the reasons I came to work here," Brewer said. "I had a great job before. But what he does is a unique and amazing thing, and I wanted to learn more from him."

She first heard about Bennett's unique role at the Port District when she heard him speak at an attorneys association meeting.

"The Port of San Diego wouldn't be where we are today without him. I'm honored to have worked with him," Brewer said.

Bennett proved to be a hands-on boss, who was known to argue cases in court on behalf of the Port of San Diego.

"I'm a little bit of an odd duck, but I tried to do my best for this agency," he said.

"I trust the future is bright for the Port of San Diego. It will continue to be a major player in the region."

The Port of San Diego was created by the state legislature in 1962 and is responsible for $1.7 billion in public improvements in its five member cities: Imperial Beach, San Diego, Coronado, Chula Vista and National City.

The Port oversees two maritime cargo terminals, two cruise ship terminals, 17 public parks, the Harbor Police Department and the leases of more than 600 tenant and sub tenant businesses around San Diego Bay.