Maybe, just maybe a glimmer of hope for the residents of Flint affected by the ongoing water crisis, the crisis essentially caused by government corruption that put everyday folks, mostly black folks, at risk!
On Thursday the presiding judge over Michigan’s Court of Claims ruled that Flint’s citizens have a right to sue the state. Judge Mark T. Boonstra said that the state and state officials can be sued because of the Flint water crisis. This is big news for so many people affected by the crisis.
Boonstra said that residents had more than proved the facts and said they were “so arbitrary in a constitutional sense, as to shock the conscience.”
He also said:
“Were the court to accept defendants’ position, it would have to find that the plaintiffs’ claims are barred because they should have filed suit (or notice) at a time when the state itself was stating that it lacked any reason to know that the water supply was contaminated. The court is disinclined to so find,”
“The allegations are sufficient, if proven, to allow a conclusion that the state actors’ actions were a substantial cause of the decline of the property’s value and that the state abused its power through affirmative actions directly aimed at the property, i.e. continuing to supply each water user with corrosive and contaminated water with the knowledge of the adverse consequences associated with being supplied such water,”
Of course, although encouraging, this is the first step in a LOOOOONNNNNGGGGG battle and many residents are just trying to get through their day-to-day. Finding lawyers who will represent and putting the energy to fix this will be tough but hopefully with people power and national support the victims of the crisis will get a little justice.
So, lets not forget Flint, lets keep reading, sharing and caring and following up on this. Stand with Flint, their crisis and make sure that they get heard.
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