Flint Water Crisis Class Action Won’t Get SCOTUS Eye

A class action alleging an engineering firm didn’t protect Flint, Mich., residents from lead contamination will remain in state court after the U.S. Supreme Court denied review June 12 (Lockwood, Andrews & Newnam v. Mason, U.S., No. 16-1092, review denied 6/12/17).

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit held in November that the local controversy exception to the Class Action Fairness Act applies because Michigan residents comprise two-thirds of the class and a Michigan company is a “significant defendant.”

CAFA allows defendants to remove certain class actions to federal court. The exception exists to ensure that ...