FLINT, Mich. (WXYZ) — Flint community leaders are planning to hold a press conference on the recent water crisis lawsuit settlement.
The conference will be held at Christ Fellowship Missionary Baptist Church located at 317 E. Hamilton Avenue at 11 a.m.
On Thursday, the state of Michigan agreed on a $600 million settlement in lawsuits regarding the Flint Water Crisis, Attorney General Dana Nessel announced.
The settlement will be given to parties who claim they were affected by the city of Flint's 2014 transition of its public water supply to the Flint River; the majority of the money will be going to settle claims filed on behalf of children.
The settlement was reached by the state parties and legal counsel after 18 months of negotiations.
The preliminary agreement specifies that about 80 percent of the net settlement fund will be spent on claims of children who were minors when first exposed to the Flint River water, with a large majority of that amount to be paid for claims of children age 6 and younger, and earmarking 2 percent to go to special education services in Genesee County. Another 18 percent of the net settlement funds are to be spent on claims of adults and for property damage. Roughly 1 percent will go toward claims for business losses.
If the settlement receives final court approval, it is likely to be the largest in Michigan state government history, affecting tens of thousands of people and resolving more than a hundred cases in state and federal trial and appellate courts.
