Mays v. Snyder
Citation | 916 N.W.2d 227,323 Mich.App. 1 |
Decision Date | 25 January 2018 |
Docket Number | No. 335725, No. 335726,No. 335555,335555 |
Parties | Melissa MAYS, Michael Adam Mays, Jacqueline Pemberton, Keith John Pemberton, Elnora Carthan, Rhonda Kelso, and all Others Similarly Situated, Plaintiffs–Appellees/Cross–Appellees/Cross–Appellants, v. Governor Rick SNYDER, State of Michigan, Michigan Department of Environmental Quality, and Michigan Department of Health and Human Services, Defendants–Appellants/Cross–Appellees, and Darnell Earley and Jerry Ambrose, Defendants/Cross–Appellants/Cross–Appellees, and City of Flint, Not Participating. Melissa Mays, Michael Adam Mays, Jacqueline Pemberton, Keith John Pemberton, Elnora Carthan, Rhonda Kelso, and all Others Similarly Situated, Plaintiffs–Appellees, v. Governor Rick Snyder, State of Michigan, Michigan Department of Environmental Quality, and Michigan Department of Health and Human Services, Defendants, and Darnell Earley, and Jerry Ambrose, Defendants–Appellants, and City of Flint, Not Participating. Melissa Mays, Michael Adam Mays, Jacqueline Pemberton, Keith John Pemberton, Elnora Carthan, Rhonda Kelso, and all Others Similarly Situated, Plaintiffs–Appellees, v. Governor Rick Snyder, State of Michigan, Michigan Department of Environmental Quality, and Michigan Department of Health and Human Services, Defendants–Appellants, and Darnell Earley and Jerry Ambrose, Defendants, and City of Flint, Not Participating. |
Court | Court of Appeal of Michigan (US) |
Pitt McGehee Palmer & Rivers, PC (by Michael L. Pitt, Cary S. McGehee, Beth M. Rivers, and Peggy Pitt ), Goodman & Hurwitz, PC (by William Goodman, Julie H. Hurwitz, and Kathryn Bruner James ), Trachelle C. Young & Associates PLLC (by Trachelle C. Young ), Law Offices of Deborah A. La Belle (by Deborah A. La Belle ), Weitz & Luxenberg (by Gregory Stamatopoulos, Paul F. Novak, and Robin Greenwald ), and McKeen & Associates, PC (by Brian McKeen ) for plaintiffs.
Aaron D. Lindstrom, Solicitor General, Laura Moody, Chief Legal Counsel, and Richard S. Kuhl, Margaret A. Bettenhausen, Nathan A. Gambill, and Zachary C. Larsen, Assistant Attorneys General, for Governor Rick Snyder, the State of Michigan, the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality, and the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services.
Barris, Sott, Denn & Driker, PLLC (by Eugene Driker, Morley Witus, and Todd R. Mendel ), Special Assistant Attorneys General, for Governor Rick Snyder.
William Y. Kim and Reed E. Eriksson, Assistant City Attorneys, for Darnell Earley and Jerry Ambrose.
Before: Jansen, P.J., and Fort Hood and Riordan, JJ.
This case involves consolidated appeals from an October 26, 2016 opinion and order of the Court of Claims granting partial summary disposition in favor of defendants Governor Rick Snyder, the state of Michigan, the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ), and the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) (collectively, the state defendants), and defendants Darnell Earley and Jerry Ambrose (the city defendants), who are former emergency managers for the city of Flint, in this putative class action brought by plaintiff water users and property owners in the city of Flint, Michigan. For the reasons that follow, we affirm.
This case arises from the situation commonly referred to as the "Flint water crisis." The lower court record is only modestly developed, and the facts of the case are highly disputed. Because this is an appeal from an opinion of the Court of Claims partially granting and partially denying defendants' motion for summary disposition, we must construe the factual allegations in a light most favorable to plaintiffs.1 The Court of Claims summarized the factual allegations in plaintiffs' complaint as follows:
and the presence of the deadly Legionella bacteria, but actively concealed the health threats posed by the tap water, took no measures to effectively address the dangers, and publicly advised Flint water users that the water was safe and that there was no widespread problem with lead leaching into the water supply despite knowledge that these latter two statements were false.
On January 21, 2016, plaintiffs brought a four-count verified class action complaint against all defendants in the Court of Claims "on behalf of Flint water users, which include but are not limited to, tens of thousands of residents ... of the City of Flint ...." Plaintiffs brought their complaint pursuant to the Michigan’s Constitution’s Due Process/Fair and Just Treatment Clause, Const. 1963, art. 1, § 17, and Unjust Takings Clause, Const. 1963, art. 10, § 2, alleging that since "April 25, 2014 to the present, [plaintiffs] have experienced and will continue to experience serious personal injury and property damage caused...
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...note 16; Babcock, supra note 16. 128. See Mays v. Governor of Michigan, 954 N.W.2d 139, 158–62 (Mich. 2020) (quoting Mays v. Snyder, 916 N.W.2d 227, 261–63 (2018), aff’d sub nom. Mays v. Governor of Michigan, 506 Mich. 157, 954 N.W.2d 139 (2020) (first citing Smith v. Dep’t of Pub. Health,......