GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (Legal Newsline) - A federal judge entered the final judgment approving a $600 million settlement between the State of Michigan and thousands of Flint residents who were exposed to lead-contaminated drinking water, handing a taxpayer-funded $180 million fee award to private lawyers who led the litigation.
ANN ARBOR, Mich. (Legal Newsline) - Ignoring objectors who said private lawyers were claiming too much of a $625 million settlement to be paid almost entirely by Michigan taxpayers, a federal judge awarded some $180 million in fees to plaintiff attorneys in the Flint lead pollution litigation.
Attorneys in Flint water crisis settlement seek more than $200 million in fees
Attorneys in Flint water crisis settlement seek more than $200 million in fees
Dale G. Young for Crain s Detroit Business
Emergency managers switched Flint s water supply to the Flint River in 2014, but the water wasn t properly treated to reduce corrosion.
A host of attorneys who worked to obtain a settlement of $641.25 million for Flint residents harmed by the city s lead-tainted water crisis could take roughly one-third of that money in the form of fees, under a proposal unveiled Monday in federal court.
Attorneys working for nearly two dozen law firms and advocacy groups from around the country are requesting a federal judge to approve a fee proposal that would amount to more than $202.7 million. The attorneys are also seeking reimbursement of more than $7.1 million in expenses.