Guertin v. State of Michigan et al.

In 2011 the state of Michigan (defendant) declared the city of Flint (the city) to be in a fiscal emergency and replaced the existing leadership. In 2014, under the leadership of Darnell Earley, Gerald Ambrose, and Howard Croft (collectively, the officials) (defendants), the city’s water supply was switched to the Flint River to save costs. The officials approved the transition despite being aware that the city’s treatment plant was not prepared to adequately filter the water to make it safe for consumption. Employees at the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality (the MDEQ employees) (defendants) also approved the switch despite being aware the water was unsafe. Following the switch, the city’s residents experienced adverse health effects. However, the officials and the MDEQ employees assured the city’s residents that the water was safe. Eventually, the city experienced a disastrous public health crisis due to the water’s unsanitary condition. Shari Guertin and other city residents (collectively, the residents) (plaintiffs) filed suit in federal court against multiple government personnel, including the officials and the MDEQ employees. The residents claimed that the officials and MDEQ employees had violated their substantive-due-process rights. The residents also filed negligence claims against other government personnel. The officials, the MDEQ employees, and the other government personnel moved to dismiss on the ground of qualified immunity. The district court granted the motions for some but denied the motions for others, including the officials and MDEQ employees. The district court’s decision to not grant all the motions to dismiss was appealed to the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit.