Federal judge approves $626.25M settlement in Flint water litigation
DETROIT — A federal judge on Wednesday gave final approval to a $626.25 million settlement of civil claims against the state of Michigan and a handful of other parties resulting from the lead poisoning of Flint's drinking water, in what is one of the largest civil settlements in state history.
The settlement, designed to send the brunt of the proceeds to Flint, Michigan, residents who were children at the time of the water crisis, is still only considered a partial settlement of civil claims. That is because some defendants, such as the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, are not part of the settlement.
"The settlement reached here is a remarkable achievement for many reasons, not the least of which is that it sets forth a comprehensive compensation program and timeline that is consistent for every qualifying participant, regardless of whether they are members of a class or are non-class individuals represented by their own counsel," U.S. District Judge Judith Levy said in a 178-page opinion.
"The court is persuaded that the over $600 million settlement is a fair and sensible resolution of the claims against the settling defendants," Levy wrote. "The complexity and volume of this litigation present significant risks and potentially great expense to all parties if the cases were to be tried."
Attorneys have requested about $200 million in legal fees out of the total amount. Levy is to rule on that request in a separate order.
Levy gave preliminary approval to the proposed settlement in January and held a fairness hearing over several days in mid-July. The state of Michigan is paying the bulk of the settlement with a $600-million payment.
The city of Flint is paying $20 million, McLaren Hospitals $5 million, and Rowe Professional Services Co., which did engineering work related to the 2014 switch to the Flint River as the city's drinking water source, is paying $1.25 million.
Litigation continues against other private companies that were involved in Flint's switch from Lake Huron to the Flint River for its source of drinking water, as well as the EPA.
A major selling point of the settlement is its major focus on those most impacted by the lead poisoning: those who were children at the time and whose development could be most adversely affected by the toxin. Nearly 80% of the payments would go to those who were under 18 at the time of the crisis.
But many are unhappy that Flint adults are unlikely to get more than $1,000 individually unless they can show specific injuries.
Former Flint Mayor Karen Weaver drew unfavorable comparisons between the Flint settlement, to be shared among about 50,000 residents who are predominantly people of color, and other recent settlements impacting mostly white communities.
Weaver pointed to Michigan State University's $500-million settlement with 332 women sexually abused by former sports doctor Larry Nassar; Penn State's $109-million settlement with about 40 men molested by former football coach Jerry Sandusky, and USC's $852-million settlement with about 710 women abused by a former campus gynecologist.
"I am here to tell you today that this is not justice for Flint," Weaver, who was mayor of Flint from 2015 to 2019, said at the July fairness hearing. "We will not settle for the crumbs that have been set before us."
Levy said in the opinion that although she heard from many objectors, they represent less than a fraction of 1% of the more than 50,000 Flint residents who are participating in the settlement.
"The total number of objectors .... is exceedingly small in comparison to the overwhelming number of non-objecting participants," she wrote.
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There is also a huge controversy surrounding the use of portable scanners that lawyers have used to measure lead levels in the bones of Flint residents.
Levy accepted assurances the use of the portable scanners is safe and exposes residents to no more radiation than they would receive through a dental X-ray. But the manufacturer of the portable scanners, Thermo Fisher Scientific, said the scanners, used in the mining and recycling industries, are not intended four use on humans and told lawyers to quit using them.
Levy went into considerable detail responding to the bone scanning controversy in her opinion and rejected both safety concerns and concerns about whether the devices should be approved for use on humans by a regulatory agency such as the Food and Drug Administration.
She said it is true that Thermo Fisher has never marketed the portable scanners for use on humans, but the company
Access to the scanners has been another major issue, since one New York City firm, Napoli Shkolnik, owns or leases the scanners that have been used on thousands of Flint residents and has restricted access to the scanners for residents represented by other firms.
Flint's water crisis began when a state-appointed emergency manager switched the city's drinking water supply from Lake Huron water treated in Detroit to Flint River water treated at the Flint Water Treatment Plant. It was intended as a temporary, cost-saving measure, but turned out to be a disastrous mistake. The Michigan Department of Environmental Quality has acknowledged it failed to require needed corrosion-control chemicals as part of the water treatment process.
Before the 2014 water switch, the Flint City Council had backed a plan to join the Karegnondi Water Authority pipeline to Lake Huron as a new water source, though members have said they thought the city would stay on Detroit water until the new pipeline was completed.
After Flint River water began flowing, corrosive water caused lead to leach from joints, pipes and fixtures, causing a spike in toxic lead levels in the blood of Flint children and other residents.
Flint switched back to Detroit water in October 2015, but the risk remained because of damage to the city's water distribution infrastructure.
Follow Paul Egan on Twitter @paulegan4.