Scott McClallen
(The Center Square) – The state of Michigan has reached a preliminary $600 million settlement in the Flint civil lawsuits with parties who claimed harm from the switch of its public water supply to the Flint River in 2014.
About 80 percent of the settlement fund would be spent on claims from children claims who were still minors when first exposed to lead.
Of that 80 percent, 64 percent will fund children who were ages 6 and younger in 2014.
Another 18 percent of the settlement funds would be spent on claims of adults and property damage.
Less than 1 percent would go toward claims for business losses.
Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel announced that the settlement has been agreed to by the state and the plaintiffs’ attorneys after more than 18 months of negotiations.
The state released a preliminary settlement summary, and complete details will be released once the settlement is final, likely within 45 days.
Several judges must approve the settlement.
Additional defendants named in plaintiffs’ lawsuits have not agreed to the settlement agreement, including engineering consultants, Veolia North America and Lockwood, Newnam & Andrews.
The plaintiffs’ lawsuits against those groups will continue.
“Providing relief for the people of Flint and resolving these long-standing legal disputes has been a top priority for me since taking office,” Nessel said in a Thursday statement.
“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.”
If the $600 million settlement is approved and paid out, on top of the $409 million already spent, the state’s total cost for the crisis will top $1 billion.
If approved in court, the settlement might be the largest in Michigan’s history.
Senate Minority Leader Jim Ananich, D–Flint, said in a statement the settlement “represents a meaningful step toward justice for the people of Flint.
“More important than the money is the acknowledgment that our people – our children – have been permanently harmed by the deliberate negligence of those who were supposed to serve us,” Ananich said.
“The settlement is welcome news, but I have said from the very beginning that the demand for justice will not be satisfied until every person who had a hand in poisoning my city be held legally accountable, regardless of political position or power.”
It’s not clear how the $600 million would be funded.
Michigan Budget Director Chris Kolb has said the state is facing a $3 billion budget shortfall for fiscal year 2021 after measures enacted to combat COVID-19 drastically reduced tax revenue and consumer confidence plummeted.
The state has about $840 million in its rainy day fund.
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