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Federal Judge Grants Preliminary Approval to $641.25M Flint Water SettlementContact: Ryan Jarvi 517-599-2746Agency: Attorney General
January 21, 2021
LANSING – Preliminary approval of the $641.25 million civil Flint water settlement was granted earlier today by Judge Judith Levy of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan. The Court’s approval order will become effective on Jan. 27, 2021.
This preliminary approval formally establishes the process through which Flint residents can indicate their intention to file eligible settlement claims that will be processed and paid by the claims administrator. Judge Levy will still need to issue a final ruling on the settlement, depending on whether the settlement is fair, adequate and reasonable, after conducting a fairness hearing currently scheduled for July 12, 2021. It appears the public will be permitted an opportunity to offer input at the hearing, but the Court has discretion to control the exten
(AP Photo/Carlos Osorio, File)
DETROIT (CN) A federal judge granted preliminary approval Thursday to a massive settlement for Flint residents who were poisoned by contaminated water.
The settlement is currently worth more than $641 million and has been described as the “most complex settlement I’ve ever seen” by U.S. District Judge Judith Levy, a Barack Obama appointee who is overseeing the negotiations.
“Generally, a settlement between an adult plaintiff and a defendant does not require court approval. But because this settlement presents a hybrid structure that includes a class component for unrepresented adults and involves a substantial number of potential claims of Minors preliminary approval of certain aspects of the proposed settlement is both appropriate and necessary,” Levy wrote in an opinion released Thursday morning.
As we talked about on our podcast this week, there have been two major developments in the Flint Water Crisis since in the past couple of months. First, in November, there was a major settlement between Flint plaintiffs and the City of Flint, McLaren Regional Medical Center and Rowe Professional Services Co., a city contractor. The settlement was for $641.2 million but, of course, lawyers will take as much as a third of that.
This past week, the office of Attorney General Dana Nessel announced charges against nine defendants:
Jarrod Agen – Former Director of Communications and Former Chief of Staff, Executive Office of Gov. Rick Snyder