(WXYZ) — A federal appeals court upheld a ruling that reinstated former Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder and other state officials in the class action lawsuit over the Flint Water Crisis.
The judges of the U.S. Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the 2019 ruling from U.S. District Court Judge Judith Levy that reinstated Snyder and nearly all other officials.
“Plaintiffs’ allegations here demonstrate that Governor Snyder personally was aware that Flint River water was contaminated and that he personally made the decision to switch the City from the [Detroit Water and Sewage Department] to Flint River water. The allegations demonstrate that Snyder personally understood not just from public reports, but from his own staff, that Flint residents were being poisoned," the majority opinion said.
"This is yet another step on the long road to justice,” said Theodore J. Leopold, Partner at Cohen Milstein Sellers & Toll and co-lead Plaintiffs’ attorney. “We have fought for justice for the citizens of Flint and defeated the State at every turn. To this day, residents continue to suffer because of the reckless decisions of former Governor Snyder and others, and we hope to provide a measure of justice and some much-needed relief to those still struggling to recover."
The plaintiffs in the case are asking for financial relief and for the court to require repairs to private property, the establishmento f medical monitoring and the appointment of a monitor who will assist in remedial plans including early education and intervention programs.
