A landmark settlement totaling $600-million has been achieved in the Flint Water Crisis litigation.
Interim Co-lead Class Counsel for victims of the Flint water crisis have announced today the settlement with multiple governmental defendants, including the state of Michigan. This partial settlement is the result of 5 years of litigation and 18 months of court supervised negotiations. Interim Co-lead Counsel will continue to pursue claims against the remaining defendants on behalf of certain residents and local businesses in the City of Flint harmed by the water crisis.
The settlement will establish a court-monitored victims compensation fund that will provide hundreds of millions of dollars in direct payments to Flint residents, nearly 80-percent of which will go to those who were under the age of 18 at the time of the crisis. Flint residents, including minors, adults, property owners, and businesses, will be eligible to make claims from the compensation fund for personal injuries, and property and business damages. The claims process and compensation awards will be based on categories of injury. The settlement also takes into account community needs. For example, a dedicated fund will be created to provide special education programming for students who suffer long term health and behavioral impacts from lead poisoning.
The State of Michigan, the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) and all individual defendants, including former Governor Rick Snyder, are included as parties to the settlement. It is important to note that this Preliminary Agreement is a partial resolution of claims for adequate and fair compensation. The litigation will continue against other defendants, including two private engineering firms charged with professional negligence—Veolia North America (Veolia) and Lockwood, Andrews & Newnam (LAN). Each failed to give appropriate professional advice and greatly added to the widespread lead contamination of the water into proposed class members’ homes and businesses. Separate litigation against the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency will also continue.
Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel also announced that the settlement has been agreed to by the State parties and the plaintiffs’ legal counsel following more than 18 months of negotiations. Several steps must be taken before money will be disbursed.
A summary of the preliminary settlement has been released to the public. Complete details will be made available once the formal settlement is completed, which is expected within about 45 days. That agreement, along with additional documents filed with the Court, will provide more details surrounding the settlement and outline the process for claimants going forward. Approval of the settlement agreement must also be given by U.S. District Court Judge Judith Levy, Michigan 1st District Court of Appeals Judge Christopher Murray and Genesee County Circuit Court Judge Joseph Farah.
Nessel says, “Providing relief for the people of Flint and resolving these long-standing legal disputes has been a top priority for me since taking office,” and adds, “Flint residents have endured more than most, and to draw out the legal back-and-forth even longer would have achieved nothing but continued hardship. This settlement focuses on the children and the future of Flint, and the State will do all it can to make this a step forward in the healing process for one of Michigan’s most resilient cities. Ultimately, by reaching this agreement, I hope we can begin the process of closing one of the most difficult chapters in our State’s history and writing a new one that starts with a government that works on behalf of all of its people.”
All Flint residents harmed by the water crisis will have an opportunity to submit a claim for relief under the Agreement. Interim Class Counsel, Ted Leopold, with Cohen Milstein Sellers & Toll and Michael Pitt, with Pitt McGehee Palmer Bonanni & Rivers, respectively, along with affiliated firms will be conducting a public awareness campaign about the settlement and will continue to advocate for members of the proposed class and settlement sub-classes and the guardians or representatives of any children who wish to be provided legal assistance to guide them through the claims process. Claimants presenting the same profile of injuries will receive the same awards without regard to whether they are represented by an attorney or law firm. The Special Master and Plaintiffs’ lawyers will help supervise this part of the process. Under the settlement, Interim Class Counsel will seek appointment as Class Counsel for the Settlement Class and the proposed sub-classes, and Interim Class Counsel will be authorized by the Agreement to assist in securing for any parent or family member an award for his or her child who is not represented by counsel. Residents are encouraged to visit http://flintwaterjustice.com or call 866-536-0717 for information.
Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer responded to the news by saying, “From our first month in office, Attorney General Nessel and I made it clear to our teams that even though we inherited this situation, it was our responsibility to achieve the best possible settlement for the children and families of Flint – as soon as we could.” She adds, “Protecting all Michiganders and their access to clean water is a priority for my administration to make sure nothing like this ever happens again. What happened in Flint should have never happened, and financial compensation with this settlement is just one of the many ways we can continue to show our support for the city of Flint and its families. This includes:
- Working to help the city complete lead service-line replacement…
- A 2021 State budget that includes millions of dollars for Flint’s ongoing nutrition programs, child health care services, early childhood programs, lead prevention and abatement, school aid, services to seniors, and other programs supporting people in Flint who were previously exposed to lead and other contaminants…
- A 2020 budget that included $120M to clean up drinking water through investments in water infrastructure…
- Creating the Office of the Clean Water Public Advocate, and the appointment of a clean water public advocate and an environmental justice public advocate…
- New lead and copper water quality standards that are the strictest in the nation…
Whitmer went on to say, “We acknowledge that this settlement may not completely provide all that Flint needs, and that many will still feel justifiable frustration with a system and structure that at times is not adequate to fully address what has happened to people in Flint over the last six years. We hear and respect those voices and understand that healing Flint will take a long time, but our ongoing efforts and today’s settlement announcement are important steps in helping all of us move forward. The uncertainty and troubles that the people of Flint have endured is unconscionable.”
The governor concluded, “It is time for the State to do what it can and take this critical step forward so that we can keep working towards the brighter future that the people of Flint and our entire state deserve.”
Ted Leopold, court-appointed interim co-lead counsel and Partner at Cohen Milstein Sellers & Toll, says, “The residents of Flint were victims of horrendous decisions by the State, its employees, and other defendants that have resulted in tragic and devastating consequences. This public health disaster was the product of a complete disregard for the health and well-being of ordinary citizens. While we can never undo the damage that occurred to the citizens and community of Flint, we are pleased that today we were able to secure a measure of justice for the proposed class and the Flint community, and will continue to seek justice against the remaining defendants.”
Michael Pitt, court-appointed interim co-lead counsel and Partner at Pitt McGehee Palmer Bonanni & Rivers, P.C., added, “Interim Class Counsel worked with the State and counsel representing individual plaintiffs to negotiate a settlement that took into account the interests of the class and the community. We made sure that there was broad coverage so that the most impacted members of the community could participate in the settlement. Clearly, this is an important first step toward addressing the damage done to the bodies, spirit, and community of Flint. By obtaining justice, Flint residents and businesses can begin to rebuild from this tragedy.”
The Court-Appointed Interim Executive Committee that has worked in tandem with interim co-lead counsel for the past five years has included Steve Morrissey of Susman Godfrey L.L.P., who also chaired the Expert Committee; Paul Novak of Weitz & Luxenberg; Teresa Bingman of the Law Offices of Teresa A. Bingman; Esther Berezofsky of Motley Rice, LLC; and Peretz Bronstein of Bronstein, Gewirtz & Grossman L.L.C.; Mark McAlpine and Jayson Blake of McAlpine PC worked with interim class counsel in coordinating related proceedings in state court. Shawn Raymond of Susman Godfrey served on the Mediation Team and played an instrumental role in negotiating the settlement. Emmy Levens and Jessica Weiner with Cohen Milstein Sellers & Toll coordinated all briefing. Jordan Connors and Katherine Peaslee of Susman Godfrey oversaw discovery. Greg Stamatopoulos of Weitz & Luxenberg and Sarah Hansel of Motley Rice, LLC worked with experts.
The interim class counsel team also include attorneys Trachelle C. Young of Trachelle C. Young and Associates; Julie Hurwitz and Bill Goodman of Goodman, Hurwitz & James PC; Deborah LaBelle of the Law Offices of Deborah LaBelle; Cynthia Lindsey and Shermane Sealey of Cynthia M. Lindsey & Associates PLLC; Brian McKeen of McKeen & Associates; and Cary McGehee and Beth Rivers of Pitt McGehee Palmer Bonanni & Rivers PC.
Teresa A. Bingman, Law Offices of Teresa A. Bingman and member of the Executive Committee and Mediation Team, says, “This historic Agreement will remain noteworthy for many reasons beyond the justice rendered here. We will never be able to truly reverse the harm and endangerment that was a direct result of failed leadership, including by individuals elected as public servants. The action taken in reaching this partial settlement is a clear reassurance of being able to hold our government and its officials accountable. This is also a historic win for a city that’s rich in its history of Black, Brown and Immigrant working people whose trust, patience and resilience remained visible in the pursuit of justice and accountability.”
In 2014, the City of Flint switched its water supply to draw from the highly contaminated Flint River. What followed was one of the nation’s most horrific public health disasters, with all of Flint’s residents exposed to lead poisoning and corrosive water, including over 10,000 minor children. Research clearly shows that children are highly susceptible to permanent, long-term health consequences from lead poisoning. Additionally, over 30,000 of the City’s housing units lost significant value, and require substantial remediation expense, because of corroded, unsafe pipes, fixtures and appliances.
As the lawsuit uncovered, it was calculated decisions by government officials and the reckless and professionally negligent conduct of the private engineering firms that exposed residents of Flint to the harmful health effects of lead and damaged homes and businesses throughout the city.
Flint residents charged that the engineering firms LAN and Veolia gave disastrously bad advice about switching over the water supply and ensuring the quality and safety of Flint water. When Flint citizens complained about the new water’s bad smell, color and taste—and later, when poisonous lead levels easily could have been identified and the City suffered an outbreak of deadly Legionnaires’ disease—these companies failed to identify the absence of any corrosion control in the Flint water system as the root cause of the problems, conduct standard tests to assess corrosivity in the water, assess the scope of the problems, and recommend steps that could have avoided the enormous harms to the City’s residents and businesses.
Victims also accused former Governor Snyder and his administration of carrying out a woefully slow and inadequate response to the unfolding crisis. While former Governor Snyder and his staff were aware of the health risks associated with the city’s transition to Flint River water, including the risk of Legionnaires’ disease, they knowingly concealed information from the public and waited several months before declaring a state of emergency. Furthermore, the DEQ failed to comply with State and federal laws and put in place a satisfactory non-discrimination policy.
As a result of these failures, lead concentrations in Flint water reached astonishingly high levels—in one case, as much as 880 times the EPA’s legal limit. The toxic lead made its way into residents’ water supply, eventually then into their homes’ lead-based water pipes, and eventually into their bodies.
Lead poisoning is known to cause serious damage to children’s central and peripheral nervous systems, stunt growth, reduce IQ and cause serious behavioral problems. The effects of these symptoms can reverberate across a child’s entire lifespan. Residents have reported skin lesions and dermatologic pathology, neurological disorders and both chronic and acute respiratory disorders. Others have said they contracted E. coli and a urinary tract infection from Flint’s unsafe water. Corrosive water has also damaged pipes and fixtures in homes and businesses throughout the city.
