Judges Approve $626M Flint Settlement with Affected Families | Columbus Ohio Dump Trucks
Legal
The Genesee County Circuit Court is seen behind a sign for Flint, Mich. A judge granted final judgment in cases over the city's 2014 water crisis on March 21, formally approving the settlement.
Photo by Lance Cheung/U.S. Dept. of Agriculture
The years-long process of distributing a $626.5-million settlement to the families of children who drank tainted water and others impacted as a result of the Flint, Mich., lead-in-water crisis almost a decade ago is inching closer to completion after a pair of court rulings in the past week.
On March 21, Chief Judge David Newblatt in Michigan's Genesee County Circuit Court approved the settlement, formally closing cases that were filed in state court before the plaintiffs joined the combined settlement. A panel of federal appeals court judges in Ann Arbor, Mich., also upheld attorneys’ fees awarded in the settlement in a March 17 opinion.
Under the deal, Michigan will pay $600 million of the settlement, which also includes $20 million from the city of Flint, $5 million from McLaren Regional Medical Center and $1.25 million from Rowe Professional Services Co. State officials agreed to the settlement in 2020, and a federal judge originally approved deal terms in 2021.
Close to 80% of the settlement fund will go toward the claims of children, most age 6 or younger at the time, who were exposed to lead-tainted water. About 18% will settle adults’ claims and property damage, and smaller amounts will compensate business losses and support county special education services.
Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel announced the state court approval, saying in a statement that while the settlement, which is the largest civil pact in state history, cannot undo the hardship and health impacts, it “provides families with much-needed compensation for the injuries they have suffered.”
Two engineering firms that worked for Flint and were named in lawsuits over the water crisis opted to not participate in the settlement. Their case went to court last year and ended in a mistrial over a deadlocked jury.
One firm, Lockwood Andrews & Newnam Inc., reached a deal in December with the families of child plaintiffs, with terms filed under seal. The other, Veolia Water North America Operating Services LLC, still has a civil case pending with the families.
The water crisis began in 2014 after Flint switched its water source from the Detroit Water and Sewerage Dept. to the Flint River as a cost-saving measure when city finances were being overseen by a state-appointed emergency manager. Flint planned to connect to the Karegnondi Water Authority but temporarily switched its source to the Flint River. The city water treatment plant was not prepared to treat the corrosive river water, causing leaching from lead service lines.
Flint still is in the process of replacing lead service lines. After missing several court-approved deadlines, city officials have agreed to finish by an Aug. 1 deadline all excavations and replacements, and to complete restorations within four months of the excavations.
