Brown v. Snyder (In re Flint Water Cases)
| Decision Date | 27 March 2020 |
| Docket Number | 5:18-cv-10726-JEL-MKM |
| Parties | In re Flint Water Cases. This Order Relates To: Brown v. Snyder, et al. Case No. 18-10726 |
| Court | U.S. District Court — Eastern District of Michigan |
OPINION AND ORDER GRANTING IN PART AND DENYING IN PART DEFENDANTS' MOTIONS TO DISMISS PLAINTIFF'S SHORT-FORM COMPLAINT
This is one of the many cases that are collectively referred to as the Flint Water Cases. Defendants, a combination of private and public individuals and entities, allegedly set in motion a chain of events that led to bacteria and lead leaching into the City of Flint's drinking water. Plaintiffs claim that Defendants subsequently concealed, ignored, or downplayed the risks that arose from their conduct, causing them serious harm. These plaintiffs contend that the impact of what has since been called the Flint Water Crisis is still with them and continues to cause them problems.
This Court has previously adjudicated other motions to dismiss in the Flint Water Cases. First, there was Guertin v. Michigan, No. 16-cv-12412, involving two individual plaintiffs and many of the same claims and Defendants in the present case. Next, there was Carthan v. Snyder, No. 16-cv-10444, a consolidated class action that also involved similar Defendants and claims. Most recently were Walters v. City of Flint, No. 17-cv-10164, and Sirls v. Michigan, No. 17-cv-10342, which involved individual plaintiffs and the same Master Complaint as the present case.
This case involves similar underlying facts, claims, and Defendants as in other Flint Water Cases. Accordingly, this opinion will rely on the Court's earlier rulings to resolve the current motions where appropriate. But importantly, the focus in this case is on legionella bacteria, and includes McLaren Regional Medical Center and Hurley Medical Center as Defendants. The Plaintiff here is the Estate of Odie Brown, and so this opinion will describe Plaintiff's legal claims and then explain why a similar or different result is justified based on the factual allegations pleaded here. For the reasons set forth below, the Court grants in part and denies in part Defendants' motions to dismiss the complaint.
Plaintiff originally filed this lawsuit in early 2018. At that time, it was one of many individual Flint Water cases. As the number of lawsuits grew, the Court appointed co-liaison lead counsel to coordinate the individual lawsuits. It also directed co-liaison lead counsel to file a Master Complaint that would apply to all pending and future non-class action cases.1 The attorneys in each of these cases were ordered to also file a Short Form Complaint, adopting only the pertinent allegations from the Master Complaint as they saw fit. The Short Form Complaints also allowed for an Addendum if any plaintiffs wished to allege a new cause of action or include additional defendants. This would allow the Court to issue opinions that would apply to multiple individual cases, rather than to address each case in turn and cause a delay in the administration of justice.
After the Court ruled on motions to dismiss in Walters v. City of Flint, No. 17-cv-10164 and Sirls v. Michigan, No. 17-cv-10342, the Court instructed Plaintiff to amend its complaint in this case using the ShortForm Complaint from Walters and Sirls, which Plaintiff did on September 10, 2019.2 Plaintiff adopted the Master Complaint from Walters in full and included an Addendum with new allegations and defendants. (ECF No. 73.) Soon after, Defendants moved to dismiss the complaint and on January 22, 2020, the Court heard oral argument on the motions.
Plaintiff in this case is the Estate of Odie Brown, brought by Cholyonda Brown who is the daughter and personal representative ofOdie Brown. Odie Brown was a resident of Flint who died from Legionnaires' disease on January 9, 2015. Plaintiff contends that Odie Brown's death resulted from exposure to Flint's contaminated water. Plaintiff sues the following individuals and entities:
The State Defendants. The State Defendants include Rick Snyder, the former Governor of Michigan;3 Andy Dillon, former Treasurer for the State of Michigan; and Nick Lyon, the former Director of the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services ("MDHHS").
The MDEQ Defendants. Michigan Department of Environmental Quality ("MDEQ") Defendants include Liane Shekter Smith,4 MDEQ Chief of the Office of Drinking Water and Municipal Assistance; Stephen Busch, an MDEQ District Supervisor; Patrick Cook, a former specialist for the Community Drinking Water Unit; Michael Prysby, a formerEnvironmental Quality District 8 Water Supervisor; and Adam Rosenthal,5 a former water quality analyst for the MDEQ.6
The City Defendants. The City Defendants include Darnell Earley, Emergency Manager from November 2013 to January 2015; Gerald Ambrose, Emergency Manager from January 2015 to April 2015; Dayne Walling, Mayor of Flint from August 2009 to November 2015; Howard Croft, Flint's former Director of Public Works; Michael Glasgow, the former City of Flint Laboratory and Water Quality Supervisor; Daugherty Johnson, Flint's former Utilities Administrator; and the City of Flint.7
Jeff Wright. Wright is the Genesee County Drain Commissioner and Chief Executive Officer of the Karegnondi Water Authority ("KWA").
The Hurley Defendants. The Hurley Defendants include the City of Flint Board of Hospital Managers doing business as Hurley Medical Center ("Hurley"); Norb Birchmeier, the Director of Facilities and Support Services for Hurley; and Ann Newell, the Infection Control Manager at Hurley. Hurley is a municipally owned hospital in the City of Flint, and is one of the two sites where Plaintiff alleges Odie Brown was exposed to legionella bacteria.
The Private Defendants. The private defendants include Lockwood, Andrews & Newman, PC, Lockwood Andrews & Newman, Inc., and the Leo. A. Daly Company (collectively ''LAN''); and McLaren Regional Medical Hospital ("McLaren"). LAN performed work as a consultant related to Flint's transition to the Flint River and continued to advise Flint on water quality issues during the Flint Water Crisis. McLaren is a major hospital in the City of Flint, and is one of the two sites where Plaintiff alleges Odie Brown was exposed to legionella bacteria.
Plaintiff's Short Form Complaint fully adopts the relevant facts alleged in the Master Complaint from Walters. (Walters, No. 17-cv-10164, ECF No. 185-2.) In addition to the Master Complaint and Short Form Complaint, Plaintiff's Addendum asserts two additional counts against Defendants McLaren and Hurley.8 The Government Defendants, LAN, and the Hurley Defendants moved to dismiss, and McLaren answered the complaint. (ECF Nos. 90, 92.)
The Master Complaint's facts, setting forth the background of the Flint Water Crisis, were summarized in this Court's opinion in Walters and will not be reproduced here. Walters v. City of Flint, No. 17-cv-10164, 2019 WL 3530874, at *4-*11 (E.D. Mich. Aug. 2, 2019). However, unlike Walters, Plaintiff does not allege injuries from lead poisoning. Also, unlike Walters, many of the events and actions after January 2015 are not relevant here because Odie Brown died on January 9, 2015.
Odie Brown was 65 years old when she died of Legionnaires' disease. (ECF No. 73, PageID.339.) Legionnaires' disease is a severe type of pneumonia. Individuals can get the disease if they breathe in water droplets containing legionella bacteria or if legionella-contaminated water enters their lungs while drinking. (Walters, No. 17-cv-10164, ECF No. 185-2, PageID.5131.)
Brown, a resident of Flint, was diagnosed with Legionnaires' disease at Hurley on December 25, 2014. (ECF No. 73, PageID.339.) Before that, Brown had been hospitalized at both McLaren and Hurley. (Id.) She was first admitted to McLaren in September 2014, and was subsequently hospitalized at Hurley several times from late September 2014, until her death in January 2015. (Id.) Plaintiff alleges that Odie Brown died as a result of exposure to contaminated Flint River water either as a patient at McLaren or Hurley. (Id.) Both hospitals used the City of Flint's water which was sourced from the Flint River beginning in April 2014. (Id. at PageID.347, 355.)
Plaintiff brings a gross negligence claim against Hurley Medical Center along with two of its employees, Defendants Birchmeier andNewell. (ECF No. 73, PageID.355.) According to Plaintiff, Birchmeier and Newell oversaw and were responsible for ensuring that the hospital's water supply was safe and clean for its patients. (Id. at PageID.345.) The Hurley Defendants knew by summer of 2014 that there was a significant increase in reported cases of Legionnaires' disease in Genesee County and at the two major Flint hospitals, McLaren and Hurley. (Id. at PageID.356.) The increase in Legionnaires' disease cases coincided with the introduction of the Flint River as the City's water source. Plaintiff contends that the Hurley Defendants were aware that legionella was in its water supply and did not take steps to warn Odie Brown or make its premises safe. (Id. at PageID.338.)
The Flint Water Cases have already produced several Sixth Circuit opinions. These are binding on this Court and include Guertin v. Michigan, 912 F.3d 907 (6th Cir. 2019); Boler v. Earley, 865 F.3d 391 (6th Cir. 2017); and Mays v. City of Flint, 871 F.3d 437 (6th Cir. 2017). The Court will also adhere to its own prior decisions where appropriate, including Guertin v. Michigan, No. 16-cv-12412, 2017 WL 2418007 (E.D. Mich. June 5, 2017); Carthan v. Snyder, 329 F. Supp. 3d 369 (E.D. Mich.2018); Carthan v. Snyder, 384 F. Supp. 3d 802 (E.D. Mich. 2019); and Walters v. City of Flint, No. 17-cv-10164, 2019 WL 3530874 (E.D. Mich. Aug. 2, 2019).
When deciding a motion to dismiss under ...
To continue reading
Request your trial