Update: AG Nessel speaks on settlement reached for Flint water civil suit

LANSING, Mich. (WILX) - The state of Michigan has agreed to a $600 million settlement of the civil lawsuits brought against the State of Michigan by Flint residents. The suit was brought after the water supply for the City of Flint was switched to the Flint River in April of 2014, with the resulting water quality causing severe health problems for the residents who drank it.

The settlement requires that the State of Michigan pay $600 million into a qualified settlement fund for the benefit of those individuals, property owners, and businesses who claimed they were injured by the water distributed by the City of Flint.

Ted Leopold, a lawyer on the Flint Water Justice team noted that this settlement is not the end of the process, but may be the beginning of the end. He said that there are two engineering firms that may bear some of the responsibility for the crisis.

“We will attempt to get additional justice,” Leopold added,

The amount of money to be paid to individual claimants won’t be determined until the claims process proceeds, since it partially depends on the number of claims submitted and found to be eligible.

During a livestreamed meeting, Attorney General Dana Nessel spoke at length about the settlement; citing that “the settlement will go a long way in making state residents whole.”

Attorney General Nessel also spoke on the current controversy surrounding the U.S. postal system.

She deemed the restrictions on the mail services “an effort to disenfranchise voters” and feels these actions are because the Trump administration does not believe they can win the election fairly. She hopes that a court order with a judge’s signature can be put into place so that no other changes can be made by Postmaster General Louis DeJoy.

Moreover, she wanted Michigan citizens to know that “they have a government who cares about their health and well-being.”

Here are the full terms of the Flint settlement:

Flint Terms of Settlement.pdf by Jake Draugelis on Scribd