Woman Leading Flint Water Lead Poisoning Law Suit Found Shot in Own Home

[Drew Phipps]

4. Does anybody with law experience know how, returning the lawsuit to the state jurisdiction will affect the lawsuit? Is it better or worse for the defendants named?
5. Is it time for the Feds or other investigators to get involved for the safety of the others who have ongoing lawsuits? How can it be determined if others may be in danger?

I don't know anything specific about Michigan. However, as a general rule, state courts are better than Federal courts for the plaintiff, if only because the Federal appellate courts are traditionally so unfriendly to plaintiffs. I would suspect that in Michigan right now your average jury would resemble a lynch mob (complete with torches and pitchforks) to a named defendant in the Flint water matter, which I am also supposing was the motive for the defendant's unsuccessful attempt to move it to Federal court.


I would guess that the Feds might offer their assistance to Flint PD, since this is a high profile matter. However, without some sort of federal question, the Fibbies will usually defer. However, I could easily see a federal question arising if the deaths are truly connected, like RICO (organized crime) or a conspiracy that crosses state lines, for instance. Knocking off a plaintiff (after they file) would be unlikely to significantly affect the civil lawsuit, because then the plaintiff's estate is still in the lawsuit (adding more lawyers to the process); or, in this case, the baby (assuming the found baby was the same baby whose interest the named plaintiff was representing) will be represented by an additional attorney or guardian. But Michigan may have different rules. Heck, they outlawed unions there or something...


A truly tragic and heartbreaking turn of events.