Dynamic Accident Lawyers: Mich. Officials Face Mounting Litigation over Flint Water Contamination

water-faucet Last week, the American Civil Liberties Union, the Natural Resources Defense Council and a group of concerned citizens’ groups hit a number of Michigan state and local officials with a lawsuit over the lead contamination of the water supply in Flint, Mich.

“The water in Flint, Michigan is not safe to drink,” the lead contamination lawsuit says. “It has not been safe to drink since April 2015, when city and state officials began using the Flint River as a source of drinking water and caused lead to leach into the city’s water supply.”

Lead is a harmful substance that can cause severe damage to the human body, and is especially harmful to the nervous system. Children are especially vulnerable to lead exposure, which can cause them to suffer lower intelligence, developmental delays, and other behavioral problems, according the Flint water lawsuit.

The ACLU and NRDC accuse the government of failing to comply with the Safe Drinking Water Act, which requires officials who operate water systems to test drinking water and treat the water to control for any harmful contaminants.

“City and state officials’ complete disregard for those requirements is exposing the people of Flint to lead, a powerful toxin that is devastating to the human body,” the Flint water contamination lawsuit asserts.

This disregard for residents of Flint is especially devastating considering the city’s poor financial state related to the closing and relocation of automotive plants over the last few decades, according to the water contamination lawsuit. The loss of these plants has not only hurt the city’s economy, but it has also contributed to a shrinking population and an increase in unemployment, poverty and crime.

According to the water contamination lawsuit, Michigan Governor Rick Snyder declared a financial emergency in Flint in November 2011, in response to the city’s budget deficit and increasing level of debt. Snyder stripped local officials of their authority and appointed an Emergency Manager to take over the city’s operations.

“The Emergency Manager was not removable by Flint voters or otherwise accountable to the Flint electorate,” the ACLU and NRDC argue in their Flint water contamination lawsuit.

To save money, the Emergency Manager and other state officials switched Flint’s drinking water source from Lake Huron to the Flint River, which has been known locally as a dumping ground for industries in the area. This switch was implemented without following federal requirements to test the drinking water for lead contamination, and without treating the water to make it safe for consumption, according to the Flint drinking water lawsuit.

“These decisions have endangered the health of Flint’s residents,” the lead contamination lawsuit says. “When run through the city’s aging metallic pipes, the corrosive Flint River water ate away at those pipes, causing lead to leach into the drinking water.”

Flint residents are suffering as a result of this ongoing lead exposure. According to the Flint water contamination lawsuit, the percentage of children in Flint with elevated levels of lead in their blood has doubled—or even tripled in some areas.

Although Flint residents raised concerns about the presence of lead in their drinking water nearly two years ago, they were told by government officials that the water was safe to drink.

“Not until a national spotlight was focused on Flint did city and state officials belatedly acknowledge a problem,” the Flint water contamination lawsuit alleges.

“Plaintiffs are individuals and citizens’ groups whose members live in homes served by Flint’s water system,” according to the Flint water lawsuit. “They bring this suit as citizens to ensure that the water provided to their homes will no longer threaten their health, and to address the medical and health harms they have suffered.”

This lawsuit is the latest to be filed over the unsafe levels of lead in Flint’s drinking water supply. In January, two class action lawsuits were filed against Snyder, the city of Flint, and various state and local government agencies.

The plaintiffs in the ACLU/NRDC water contamination lawsuit are represented by Dimple Chaudhary, Sarah C. Tallman, Anjali Waikar and Evan Feinauer of the NRDC; Michael J. Steinberg and Brooke A. Tucker of the ACLU Fund of Michigan; and Glenn M. Simmington of the Law Office of Glenn M. Simmington PLLC.

The plaintiffs in the class action lawsuits are represented by Trachelle C. Young of Trachelle C. Young & Associates PLLC, William Goodman, Kathryn Broner James and Julie H. Hurwitz of Goodman & Hurwitz PC, Michael L. Pitt, Cary S. McGehee and Beth M. Rivers of Pitt McGehee Palmer & Rivers PC, and Deborah A. La Belle of Law Offices of Deborah A. La Belle.

The ACLU/NRDC Flint Water Contamination Lawsuit is Concerned Pastors for Social Action, et al. v. Nick A. Khouri, et al., Case No. 2:16-cv-10277, in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan, Southern Division.

The Flint Water Contamination Class Action Lawsuits are Melissa Mays, et al. v. Gov. Rick Snyder, et al., in the State of Michigan Court of Claims, and Melissa Mays, et al. v. City of Flint, et al., in the State of Michigan Genesee County Circuit Court.

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