We didn’t know back in 2017 that the city’s work would leave many homes damaged, or that we’d have to return to court 5 times to get the city to finish the job. And we never thought we’d have to write this op-ed in 2023.
A legal group is asking a federal appeals court to reconsider the amount of the settlement that will go to lawyers representing Flint residents. The group argues that giving the lawyers a quarter of the recovery is excessive.
Approval by a Genesee County judge is among the final procedural steps needed before Flint residents can start collecting on claims from lead infiltrating city drinking water. Lawyers say payouts could begin this fall.
The $97 million project was originally supposed to be done by 2020. City officials blame the COVID-19 pandemic, supply shortages and unreliable contractors for the delay.
Fed up with missed deadlines in line fixes that were supposed to wrap in 2020, Flint residents and advocacy groups want a federal judge to impose a new replacement deadline and make Flint do more to restore yards and sidewalks damaged by pipe excavations.
Judges upheld a lower court order dismissing charges against two Flint water crisis defendants. It’s the latest setback in Michigan Attorney Dana Nessel’s efforts to hold state government officials accountable. Prosecutors vow to appeal.
Snyder’s is the latest of eight dismissals in the Flint criminal case, after the Michigan Supreme Court rejected the legal path Attorney General Dana Nessel’s office used to secure indictments.
Prosecutors in the Michigan Attorney General’s office say they will argue a circuit court judge erred when she dismissed criminal charges against seven former public officials.
Seventh Circuit Court Judge Elizabeth Kelly dropped felony charges against seven former government officials tied to the Flint water crisis on Tuesday.
Join us October 13 for our latest Bridge Book Club event with author, physician and Michigander Dr. Mona Hanna-Attisha to discuss her account of the Flint Water Crisis.
The Michigan Supreme Court unanimously rejected the use of a one-judge grand jury by Attorney General Dana Nessel’s office to indict the ex-governor and other Flint water crisis defendants. Snyder’s lawyers blasted prosecutors as “vindictive.”
U.S. District Court Judge Judith E. Levy denied motions to stop subpoenas for Snyder and four other government officials in a civil lawsuit. The former officials wanted to assert their right to remain silent given their pending criminal cases.
Lawyers’ large cut of the $626-million settlement is justified by the years of difficult, good work on the case, a judge said Friday. Critics argue that’s too much, and that more of the money should go directly to Flint residents.
The percentage of Michigan children with elevated blood lead levels has been falling for decades, but the toxic metal continues to inflict an uneven toll in Michigan cities, from Detroit to Grand Rapids.
New rules, imposed after Flint, forced public water providers to look harder for lead leaching into drinking water. Violations of state lead standards are up nearly 50 percent, with new urgency to remove lead from water lines.
