Just As Flint Threatens Lawsuit, The State of Michigan Removed Their Power to Sue
Michigan has stripped the City of Flint of the ability to sue over the lead contamination of its water supply.
As the Detroit Free Press reports, Flint Mayor Karen Weaver filed a notice of intent to sue the State of Michigan with the Court of Claims back on March 24 — the last day of a 180-day limit from the time the city became aware of potential claims it could make against the state, according with court rules.
Weaver and Flint officials, at the time of filing notice, “had no plans to sue the state but had to take action to reserve the city’s rights” should that legal action have been warranted in the future, according to the Free Press.
In April 2015, Flint gained back some autonomy with the removal of a controversial emergency managership, but — underlying the lawsuit issue — the “state still exerts partial control over the city through a five-member Receivership Transition Advisory Board, whose members are appointed by Gov. Rick Snyder,” wrote the Free Press.
That board apparently didn’t find the notice to sue too amusing, and — despite it being a pure formality and preservation of protection for the people of Flint who had been poisoned by their government — cruelly and almost certainly retributively changed the rules.
For Flint to bring a lawsuit against Michigan, it now must be granted approval by Snyder’s state-appointed board.
Simply put, Flint has to ask the state for permission to sue it — something the already-embittered board couldn’t possibly be expected to grant.
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