Flint settlement overview:
- Who: Veolia North America reached a $25 million settlement with Flint residents.
- Why: The Flint settlement will resolve a class action lawsuit alleging Veolia failed to identify corroding pipes and notify officials about the risks of water contamination, contributing to the Flint water crisis.
- Where: The Flint Veolia settlement was reached in Michigan federal court.
Veolia North America, an engineering company hired as a consultant by the city of Flint, Michigan, has agreed to pay $25 million to settle residents’ allegations it failed to identify corroding pipes that contributed to the Flint water crisis, Law360 reports.
The Flint residents’ settlement with Veolia North America was announced Feb. 1, less than two weeks before the case was scheduled for trial. The trial date has been suspended pending final approval of the Flint Veolia settlement, according to The Associated Press.
The jury would have been tasked with determining whether Veolia breached care, and if so, if that breach prolonged the Flint water crisis.
If approved, the settlement will resolve claims on behalf of a class of 45,000 class members.
The settlement includes $1,500 payments for eligible minors represented in the lawsuit, up to a total of $1.5 million.
Flint residents’ settlement will resolve class action allegations against Veolia
Flint residents filed the class action lawsuit against Veolia in 2016, alleging the engineering company failed to identify corroding pipes and warn government officials about potential lead contamination.
The contaminated water allegedly caused learning disabilities in children and medical problems for many adults, according to The Associated Press. Flint residents sued Veolia and the firm Lockwood Andrews & Newman, claiming the firms did not take adequate steps to convince Flint officials to treat the contaminated water or to have the city use a regional water supplier.
Veolia denies the allegations, claiming it was hired as a consultant after the city had switched to using Flint River water. Veolia maintains it made recommendations to the city that were ignored.
“VNA made good recommendations, including a crucial one on corrosion control, that would have helped the city had those recommendations not been almost entirely ignored by the responsible government officials,” Veolia said in a statement. “VNA had no power over these decisions. VNA never operated the Flint Water Plant.”
This settlement resolves class action allegations against Veolia, but does not resolve claims filed by individual plaintiffs.
More than $655 million in settlements have been reached on behalf of Flint residents, including the Flint Veolia settlement. In 2021, the state of Michigan agreed to a $625 million Flint settlement. In October, Lockwood also agreed to pay $8 million to resolve class action claims.
What do you think about the Flint settlement? Join the discussion in the comments.
The Flint residents’ class action lawsuit is In re: Flint Water Cases, Case No. 5:16-cv-10444, in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan.
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