Correspondence between

Melisa Mays, individually and as —_ Class action for declaratory relief. Plaintiffs seek next friend of three minor compensation for exposure to toxic tap water pulled fron children; Jacqueline Pemberton; _ the Flint River after repeated assurances from the Keith John Pemberton; Elnora defendants the water was properly treated and Carthan; Rhonda Kelso, monitored. Plaintiffs drank water with high levels of individually and as next friend of | copper and lead that caused neurological injury as well a: one minor child, all on behalf of physical effects. themselves and a class of ail Download others similarly situated v. Governor Rick Snyder; State of Michigan; Daniel Wyant; Liane Shekter Smith; Adam Rosenthal; Stephen Busch; Patrick Cook; Michael Prysby; Bradley Wurfel; Darnell Earley; Gerald Ambrose; Dayne Walling; Howard Croft; Michael Glasgow; Daugherty Johnson; City of Flint 11/13/2015 2:15 cv 14002 xxxEND_PAGE:treasury01_b33_5236_5444_103 2:15-cv-14002-JCO-MKM Doc#1 Filed 11/13/15 Pgiof30 PgID1 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT EASTERN DISTRICT OF MICHIGAN Melisa Mays, individually and as next friend of three minor children, Michael Mays, Jacqueline Pemberton, Keith John Pemberton, Elnora Carthan, and Rhonda Kelso, CLASS ACTION individually and as next friend of one minor child, all on behalf of themselves and a class of all others similarly situated, Plaintiffs, Case No. 15- vs. Hon. Governor Rick Snyder, in his official capacity, and the State of Michigan for prospective relief only; Daniel Wyant, Liane Shekter Smith, Adam Rosenthal, Stephen Busch, Patrick Cook, Michael Prysby, Bradley Wurfel all in their individual capacities; Darnell Earley, Gerald Ambrose, Dayne Walling, Howard Croft, Michael Glasgow and Daugherty Johnson in their individual and official capacities, and the City of Flint, a municipal corporation, jointly and severally, Defendants. / William Goodman P14173 Trachelle C. Young P63330 Julie H. Hurwitz P34720 Trachelle C Young & Associates Goodman & Hurwitz, PC PLLC 1394 E. Jefferson Ave. 2501 N Saginaw St Detroit, MI 48207 Flint, MI 48505-4443 313-567-6170 810-239-6302 [email protected] Michael L. Pitt P24429 Cary 8. McGehee P42318 Beth M. Rivers P36614 Pitt McGehee Palmer & Rivers, PC 117 W. Fourth Street, Suite 200 Royal Oak, MI 48067 248-398-9800 xxxEND_PAGE:treasury01_b33_5236_5444_104 2:15-cv-14002-JCO-MKM Doc#1 Filed 11/13/15 Pg2of30 PgID2 [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] COMPLAINT FOR INJUNCTIVE AND DECLARATORY RELIEF MONEY DAMAGES AND JURY DEMAND INTRODUCTORY STATEMENT 1. This class action is pursued on behalf of tens of thousands of residents (“Class”) of the City of Flint (“Flint”), who from April 25, 2014 to the present, have experienced and will continue to experience serious personal injury and property damage caused by Defendants’ deliberate decision to expose them to the extreme toxicity of water pumped from the Flint River into their homes, schools, hospitals, workplaces and public places. 2. Defendants, who are all state of Michigan (“State”) or Flint government employees, acting under the color of law, deliberately deprived Plaintiffs and the Plaintiff Class of the rights and guarantees secured by the 14 Amendment to the United States Constitution in that they deprived Plaintiffs of life, liberty and property without due process of law when they took from Plaintiffs safe drinking water and replaced it with what they knew to be a highly toxic alternative solely for fiscal purposes. 3. “For more than 18 months, state and local government officials ignored irrefutable evidence that the water pumped from the Flint River exposed the 2 xxxEND_PAGE:treasury01_b33_5236_5444_105 2:16-cv-14002-JCO-MKM Doc#1 Filed 11/13/15 Pg3o0f30 PgID3 Plaintiffs and the Plaintiff Class to extreme toxicity, causing serious and dire injury and health hazards, and property damage to the Flint water users. These state and local officials, Defendants herein, regularly assured the Flint water users that the water supplied from the Flint River was being properly treated, monitored and tested and was safe to consume and use. Information obtained through the Freedom of Information Act establishes that many of these assurances were known to be false when uttered: state and local officials were not properly monitoring or sampling the Flint River water and delayed in notifying the public of serious safety and health risks in a knowing and deliberate effort to conceal the truth from those who were being poisoned. The deliberately false denials about the safety of the Flint River water was as deadly as it was arrogant.” 4. The massive personal and property injuries experienced by Plaintiffs and the Class, and the ensuing environmental disaster, reaches constitutional proportions because defendants, acting under the color of law, both created and increased the risk of prolonged serious and life threatening dangers to Plaintiffs and the Class where none existed before. 5. The state and local government officials, Defendants herein, who made the decision to replace safe water with an alternative that created toxic water, violated the constitutional rights of Plaintiffs and Plaintiff Class members by acting xxxEND_PAGE:treasury01_b33_5236_5444_106 2:15-cv-14002-JCO-MKM Doc#1 Filed 11/13/15 Pg4of30 PgID4 in a manner that shocks the conscience and was deliberately indifferent to the those constitutional rights, as well as to the health and well-being of the Plaintiffs. JURISDICTION AND VENUE 6. This is a civil action brought pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983 seeking injunctive and declaratory relief together with monetary damages against Defendants for violation of Fourteenth Amendment of the United States Constitution. 7. This Court has jurisdiction pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1331, which authorizes federal courts to decide cases concerning federal questions; 28 U.S.C. § 1343(a)(3) and (4), which authorizes federal courts to hear civil rights cases; and 28 U.S.C. § 2201, the Declaratory Judgment Act. This Court has personal jurisdiction over Defendants named herein as public officials of the State of Michigan sued in their individual capacities and public officials, employees of the City of Flint sued in their official and individual capacities and the City of Flint for violations of plaintiffs’ constitutional rights. Similarly, the Court has jurisdiction over the Governor of the State of Michigan, in his official capacity, for prospective relief, exclusively. 8. Venue is proper in this Court as Defendants conduct their business in the Eastern District of Michigan. PARTIES A. PLAINTIFFS xxxEND_PAGE:treasury01_b33_5236_5444_107 2:15-cv-14002-JCO-MKM Doc#1 Filed 11/13/15 Pg5Sof30 PgIDS 9. Plaintiff representatives are citizens of the United States and at all relevant times were residents of Flint — individuals, home owners, parents and minors — who, since April 25, 2014, were and continue to be exposed to highly dangerous conditions created, caused and prolonged by Defendants’ deliberate decision to replace safe drinking water supplied by the City of Detroit’s water system with the extreme toxicity resulting from water pumped from the Flint River; and these Defendants continued failure to remediate these dangers notwithstanding their knowledge thereof. Plaintiffs bring this action on behalf of themselves and a Class of individuals who were injured in their persons or their property after April 25, 2014 because of their exposure to the toxic water pumped from the Flint Rivers. B. DEFENDANTS 10. All individual Defendants are sued in their individual and/or official capacities as indicated below. 11. Defendant Rick Snyder is the Governor of the State of Michigan and is invested with executive power pursuant to Art. V, Section 1 of the Michigan Constitution. The Governor, is responsible for the management of state government for the health and welfare of its citizens and residents and is sued by plaintiffs and the Class in his official capacity exclusively for prospective equitable relief to correct the harm caused and prolonged by state government and to prevent future injury. xxxEND_PAGE:treasury01_b33_5236_5444_108 2:15-cv-14002-JCO-MKM Doc#1 Filed 11/13/15 Pg6of30 PgID6 12. Defendant State of Michigan operates its Department of Environmental Quality (“MDEQ”), which is responsible for overall management of the state department responsible for the environmental safety and health of Michigan citizens and residents. The State is sued because, acting through MDEQ, it made the final decision that deliberately created, increased and prolonged the hazards, threats and dangers that arose by replacing of safe drinking washing and bathing water with a highly toxic alternative. 13. Defendant Daniel Wyant (“Wyant”) currently is and at all relevant times was Director of MDEQ and is sued by Plaintiffs and the Plaintiff Class in his individual capacity because he was aware of and participated in the decisions that deliberately created, increased and prolonged the hazards, threats and dangers that arose by replacing of safe drinking washing and bathing water with a highly toxic alternative. 14. Liane Shekter Smith (“Smith”) was at all relevant times Chief of the Office of Drinking Water and Municipal Assistance for MDEQ, holding that position until October 19, 2015 when she was removed because of “mistakes” in the manner in which the Flint water crisis was handled. Smith is individually liable because during her term, as Chief of Drinking Water for MDEQ, she approved of, and thereby participated in, the decisions that deliberately created, increased and prolonged the hazards, threats and dangers that arose by replacing of safe drinking washing and bathing water with a highly toxic alternative. 6 xxxEND_PAGE:treasury01_b33_5236_5444_109 2:15-cv-14002-JCO-MKM Doc#1 Filed 11/13/15 Pg7of30 PgID7 15. Adam Rosenthal (“Rosenthal”) was at all relevant times a Water Quality Analyst assigned to the Lansing District Office of the MDEQ. Rosenthal is individually liable because, as Water Quality Analyst for MDEQ, he approved of, and thereby participated in, the decisions that deliberately created, increased and prolonged the hazards, threats and dangers that arose by replacing of safe drinking washing and bathing water with a highly toxic alternative. 16. Stephen Busch (“Busch”) was at all relevant times District Supervisor assigned to the Lansing District Office of the MDEQ. Busch is individually liable because as District Office Supervisor of MDEQ he deliberately created, increased and prolonged the hazards by falsely reporting that anti-corrosive agents had been used to treat the highly corrosive Flint River water thereby enhancing the threats and dangers that arose by replacing of safe drinking washing and bathing water with a highly toxic alternative. 17. Patrick Cook (“Cook”) was at all relevant times Water Treatment Specialist assigned to the Lansing Community Drinking Water Unit of the MDEQ. Cook is individually liable because, as Water Treatment Specialist District of MDEQ, he approved of, and thereby participated in, the decisions that deliberately created, increased and prolonged the hazards, threats and dangers that arose by replacing of safe drinking washing and bathing water with a highly toxic alternative. 18. Michael Prysby (“Prysby”) was at all relevant times Engineer assigned to District 11 (Genesee County) of the MDEQ, Prysby is individually liable because 7 xxxEND_PAGE:treasury01_b33_5236_5444_110 2:15-cv-14002-JCO-MKM Doc#1 Filed 11/13/15 Pg8of30 PgID8 as Engineer assigned to District 11 because he approved of, and thereby participated in, the decisions that deliberately created, increased and prolonged the hazards, threats and dangers that arose by replacing of safe drinking washing and bathing water with a highly toxic alternative. 19. Bradley Wurfel (“Wurfel) was at all relevant times was the Director of Communications for MDEQ. Wurfel is individually liable because as Director of Communications he was responsible for the deliberate misleading and inaccurate communications that increased and prolonged the hazards, threats and dangers that arose by replacing of safe drinking washing and bathing water with a highly toxic alternative. 20. Darnell Earley (“Earley”) was the Emergency Manager appointed by the Governor on November 1, 2013 and served in this capacity until January 12, 2015. Earley is individually liable because during his term as Emergency Manager of Flint he deliberately created, increased and prolonged the hazards, threats and dangers that arose by replacing of safe drinking washing and bathing water with a highly toxic alternative. 21. Gerald Ambrose (“Ambrose”) was the Emergency Manager appointed by the Governor on January 13, 2015 and served in this capacity until April 28, 2015. Ambrose is individually liable because during his term as Emergency Manager of Flint he deliberately increased and prolonged the hazards, threats and dangers that xxxEND_PAGE:treasury01_b33_5236_5444_111 2:15-cv-14002-JCO-MKM Doc#1 Filed 11/13/15 Pg9of30 PgID9 arose by replacing of safe drinking washing and bathing water with a highly toxic alternative. 22. Dayne Walling (“Walling”) was at all relevant times Mayor of Flint