(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.
Water analysis test kits are seen at a fire station in Flint, Mich., in 2016. (Ryan Garza/Detroit Free Press via AP, File)
FLINT, Mich. (CN) The Flint City Council voted early Tuesday to approve the city’s $20 million share of a massive $641 million settlement for injury claims stemming from the contaminated water crisis that first poisoned citizens in 2014.
The council members voted last week to hire their own attorney to advise them on the settlement and handle any of their objections with the court. They had also postponed the vote to allow the use of $20 million from an insurance carrier to pay Flint’s portion of the deal, as some members expressed apprehension about leaving some victims behind.
A water tower is seen in Flint, Mich. (AP Photo/Carlos Osorio, File)
DETROIT (CN) Attorneys urged a federal judge Monday to grant preliminary approval of a massive settlement benefitting Flint residents poisoned by contaminated water, as local government officials wrestle with accepting their part of the deal.
More than 100 attorneys were present at the hearing but only a handful spoke and debated the merits of the agreement that would compensate thousands of victims for the injuries caused by the presence of lead in the city’s drinking water supply.
U.S. District Judge Judith Levy, a Barack Obama appointee, said the $641 million agreement is the “most complex settlement I’ve ever seen.”