Flint Mayor Karen Weaver wants her city to be able to sue the state and the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality. That's why she filed a notice of intention to file claim.
"It was done because that's my responsibility to protect the city and the citizens of Flint," Weaver said.
But just because the city of Flint can sue doesn't mean it will. "Does it mean we're going to have a law suit? No, it does not," Weaver said. "But it protects our rights in case we need to be able to do that. I would be remiss in my duties and responsibilities if I didn't do that."
The legal document is required whenever anyone wants to file a lawsuit against the state and must be submitted within a certain amount of time. "The idea is that the state then can gather evidence and sort of investigate the claim and make sure that evidence isn't lost," lawyer Andrew Abood said.
The notice of intention filed calls the MDEQ's oversight "grossly negligent" and says it caused "irreversible" damage to the city's water system infrastructure. "A notice of intent puts the state on notice and lets them know that, 'Hey, somebody's out there and they may make a claim,'" Abood said.
Weaver emphasized that she has no intention of having the city sue the government. "I'm looking forward to continuing to work with the Governor and try to move things forward for the city of Flint and it's citizens, but that's my responsibility to protect the city and the citizens as well," she said.
The city now has three years to file a lawsuit if it chooses to before the statute of limitations will run up on its negligence case, Abood said.
