IN RE: FLINT WATER CASES. LUKE WAID, PARENT AND NEXT-FRIEND OF SR, A MINOR, ET AL., ELNORA CARTHAN ET AL. v. DARNELL EARLEY, GERALD AMBROSE, HOWARD CROFT, MICHAEL GLASGOW, DAUGHERTY JOHNSON, AND CITY OF FLINT, MICHIGAN (19-1425); RICHARD DALE SNYDER, FORMER GOVERNOR OF MICHIGAN, ANDY DILLON, FORMER TREASURER OF MICHIGAN, AND GRETCHEN WHITMER, PRESENT GOVERNOR OF MICHIGAN (19-1472); LIANE SHEKTER-SMITH, STEPHEN BUSCH, PATRICK COOK, MICHAEL PRYSBY, AND BRADLEY WURFEL (19-1477); AND ADAM ROSENTHAL (19-1533) - Articles

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IN RE: FLINT WATER CASES. LUKE WAID, PARENT AND NEXT-FRIEND OF SR, A MINOR, ET AL., ELNORA CARTHAN ET AL. v. DARNELL EARLEY, GERALD AMBROSE, HOWARD CROFT, MICHAEL GLASGOW, DAUGHERTY JOHNSON, AND CITY OF FLINT, MICHIGAN (19-1425); RICHARD DALE SNYDER, FORMER GOVERNOR OF MICHIGAN, ANDY DILLON, FORMER TREASURER OF MICHIGAN, AND GRETCHEN WHITMER, PRESENT GOVERNOR OF MICHIGAN (19-1472); LIANE SHEKTER-SMITH, STEPHEN BUSCH, PATRICK COOK, MICHAEL PRYSBY, AND BRADLEY WURFEL (19-1477); AND ADAM ROSENTHAL (19-1533)

Posted by: Karen Belcher on May 28, 2020

Court: 6th Circuit Court (Published Opinions)

Attorneys 1: ARGUED: William Y. Kim, CITY OF FLINT LAW DEPARTMENT, Flint, Michigan, for Appellant City of Flint, and Christopher J. Marker, O’NEIL, WALLACE & DOYLE, P.C., Saginaw, Michigan, for Appellant Glasgow in 19-1425.

Attorneys 2: ARGUED: Margaret A. Bettenhausen, OFFICE OF THE MICHIGAN ATTORNEY GENERAL, Lansing, Michigan for Appellants in 19-1472. Charles E. Barbieri, FOSTER, SWIFT, COLLINS & SMITH, P.C., Lansing, Michigan, for Appellants in 19-1477. James A. Fajen, FAJEN AND MILLER, PLLC, Ann Arbor, Michigan, for Appellant in 19-1533. Samuel R. Bagenstos, Ann Arbor, Michigan, for Appellees.

Attorneys 3: ONBRIEF: William Y. Kim, CITY OF FLINT LAW DEPARTMENT, Flint, Michigan, Frederick A. Berg, Jr., BUTZEL LONG, P.C., Detroit, Michigan, Sheldon H. Klein, Joseph E. Richotte, BUTZEL LONG, P.C., Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, Christopher J. Marker, O’NEIL, WALLACE & DOYLE, P.C., Saginaw, Michigan, Todd R. Perkins, THE PERKINS LAW GROUP PLLC, Detroit, Michigan, Alexander S. Rusek, WHITE LAW, PLLC, Okemos, Michigan, Barry A. Wolf, Flint, Michigan, Edwar A. Zeineh, LAW OFFICE OF EDWAR A. ZEINEH, Lansing, Michigan, for Appellants in 19-1425.

Attorneys 4: ONBRIEF: Margaret A. Bettenhausen, Richard S. Kuhl, Nathan A. Gambill, Zachary C. Larsen, OFFICE OF THE MICHIGAN ATTORNEY GENERAL, Lansing, Michigan for Appellants in 19-1472. Charles E. Barbieri, FOSTER, SWIFT, COLLINS & SMITH, P.C., Lansing, Michigan, Michael J. Pattwell, Jay M. Berger, CLARK HILL PLC, Lansing, Michigan, Thaddeus E. Morgan, FRASER, TREBILCOCK, DAVIS & DUNLAP, Lansing, Michigan, Philip A. Grashoff, Jr., SMITH HAUGHEY RICE & ROEGGE, Grand Rapids, Michigan, for Appellants in 19-1477. James A. Fajen, FAJEN AND MILLER, PLLC, Ann Arbor, Michigan, James W. Burdick, BURDICK LAW, P.C., Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, for Appellant in 19-1533. Samuel R. Bagenstos, Ann Arbor, Michigan, for Appellees.

Judge(s): MERRITT, MOORE, and MURPHY, Circuit Judges

Court Appealed: Appeal from the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan at Ann Arbor

KAREN NELSON MOORE, Circuit Judge. This is a case about the Flint Water Crisis. From 2014 to 2015, City of Flint and Michigan State officials caused, sustained, and covered up the poisoning of an entire community with lead- and legionella-contaminated water. The crisis started in April 2014 when the City began delivering Flint River water to its predominantly poor and African-American residents, knowing that it was not treated for corrosion. In a matter of weeks, Flint residents reported that there was something wrong with the way the water looked, tasted, and smelled, and that it was causing rashes. In response, the City treated the water with additional chlorine—exacerbating the corrosion in the old water lines. The corrosion contaminated the water with hazardous levels of lead and caused an outbreak of Legionnaires’ disease. State and City officials failed to stop the delivery of Flint River water and obstinately assured the public that the water was safe, when they knew it was not. Now, Flint residents can expect to see their children permanently developmentally stunted. It has been six years since the start of the crisis and corroded pipes still infect the water and poison the people of Flint. The question before us is whether these Defendants-Appellants allegedly responsible for the crisis are immune from suit.

We AFFIRM the district court’s denial of the motions to dismiss with respect to every Defendant-Appellant except Treasurer Dillon. We REMAND for the district court to decide whether Dillon should be dismissed in light of its decision in Brown v. Snyder (In re Flint Water Cases), No. 18-cv-10726, 2020 WL 1503256, at *9 (E.D. Mich. Mar. 27, 2020).

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