A recent Law 360 story, “Flint Water Contamination Legal Fees Could Reach $2.7M” reports that Michigan’s outside legal fees connected to the contamination of the water supply in Flint could climb to $2.7 million, according to requests that won preliminary approval from a state board committee on Tuesday.
The Finance and Claims Committee on Tuesday voted to send a regular and supplemental agenda with requests from the governor and attorney general’s offices for a total of $2.7 million in fees to the full State Administrative Board, which is scheduled to hear the requests on March 15.
The city has been the focus of national scrutiny over how local and state leaders responded to the fact that residents' tap water was polluted with lead and other contaminants. In the supplemental agenda, Republican Gov. Richard D. Snyder requested a total of $1.2 million in legal fees stemming from the water crisis.
The governor asked for up to $400,000 to pay Barris Sott Denn & Driker PLLC for legal services regarding civil litigation over the water crisis, as well as a maximum of $800,000 to pay Warner Norcross & Judd LLP for record management and investigations issues connected to the water contamination.
Snyder spokeswoman Anna Heaton told Law360 in an email on Tuesday that the contracts have been expanded in anticipation of bills for work already completed as well as the processing of documents related to the Flint water crisis.
“Between the executive office and the state departments, we have an enormous amount of data to go through to ensure we are releasing everything that is relevant to the Flint water crisis but also protecting personal and other information that is never released, even under [the Freedom of Information Act],” Heaton said.
She added that the work is being done to ensure government transparency and said that outside help is needed in order to process the requests in a timely manner.
Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette also requested $1.5 million in the supplemental agenda to fund an 18-month contract with Flood Law PLLC. Schuette tapped former prosecutor Todd Flood in January to lead the attorney general’s probe of the Flint water crisis.
A representative for Schuette didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment on Tuesday, State Senate Minority Leader Jim Ananich, D-Flint, criticized both contracts on Tuesday following the board meeting.
“Paying more for high-priced lawyers than we are for school nurses or fully refunding victims is another kick in the teeth to taxpayers and my community,” Ananich said in a statement. “Our priority should be sending every resource we can to removing pipes and protecting kids, not covering legal fees.”
Flint residents have experienced the effects of elevated levels of lead and other pollutants in their drinking water since April 2014, when city managers switched the city’s drinking water source from Lake Huron to the polluted Flint River. Residents have had to rely on bottled water for cooking, drinking and bathing to avoid exposure to lead and other contaminants.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Department of Justice have been tasked with unearthing possible criminal violations related to the switch and the resulting contamination crisis.
The EPA also issued an emergency order in mid-January directing the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality and the city of Flint to take immediate action to address ongoing safety concerns in connection with Flint's drinking water system.
A Flint resident in mid-February lodged a class action lawsuit over the beleaguered city's water contamination crisis, naming Snyder and other officials, and seeking damages for the "devastating" effects of lead poisoning.
Most recently, Snyder and the city of Flint were hit with a new proposed class action on Monday by seven families accusing them of negligence in connection to the water contamination.