ANN ARBOR, Mich. (Legal Newsline) - The federal judge overseeing a proposed settlement of Flint water claims has ordered a local lawyer to cease communicating with class members after he sent out letters urging residents to opt out of the $641 million agreement.
In a Feb. 8 order, U.S. District Judge Judith Levy told attorney Loyst Fletcher Jr. he was enjoined from “making, providing or disseminating any future communications with or to any and all putative class members” as well as residents represented by other lawyers.
The judge issued the temporary restraining order after a hearing last week in which the lead counsel who negotiated the settlement complained that Fletcher had sent out letters to an unknown number of people telling them they should object, opt out and claim “2% relief” instead. The settlement between the State of Michigan and residents and property owners who were injured by the release of lead into the Flint water system doesn’t include any such relief, and class members can either object to the settlement or opt out, but not both.
The flareup between Fletcher and lawyers who led the settlement negotiations is only the latest confrontation as attorneys seek a share of the largely taxpayer-funded agreement. Last year, Flint attorney Valdemar Washington tried unsuccessfully remove Napoli Shkolnik and Levy Konigsberg from control of the litigation, accusing them of using inside knowledge to gain an advantage in obtaining clients for lawsuits that could generate $100 million in fees. Two years earlier, those two firms themselves tried to knock each other out of the case, with Hunter Shkolnik accusing rival Levy Konigsberg of engaging in a “blatant money grab.”
In the latest drama, Fletcher sent out form letters dated Jan. 17 urging residents to tell the court they lack the medical records or lead tests or other proof of damage required under the settlement. The letters purported to allow them to opt out of the agreement and request “the 2% relief.” Fletcher also included a separate retainer agreement granting his firm a 40% fee.
Fletcher didn’t return a phone call seeking comment. Four days after the letters went out, Judge Levy tentatively approved the settlement, which could generate more than $100 million in fees for the lawyers who negotiated it.
One of the letters allegedly went to Mitchell Harris, who was already represented by Napoli Shkolnik. The lead plaintiff firms went to court to complain, saying Fletcher was sowing confusion and trying to steal clients, which is prohibited under Michigan’s legal ethics rules.
“Based upon the telephone calls and other inquiries made by Plaintiffs thus far, the communication has already caused distress and confusion among the residents of Flint,” they said in court filing last week.
The lawyers said they “will now be required to participate in needless phone calls and correspondence with potentially thousands of plaintiffs.”
“Not only will these communications take copious amounts of time, but they will have the effect of making Plaintiffs’ counsel appear ineffective and incompetent—undermining the attorney-client relationship,” they said.
Judge Levy issued an oral TRO at the hearing last week and followed up with a formal order on Monday. She barred Fletcher from making “incorrect, misleading, or improper” communications with class members and also ordered him to turning over the names of more than 200 people his firm mailed letters to, along with any notes from conversations with them.
At the hearing last week, Fletcher reportedly sparred with the lead plaintiff attorneys, at one point accusing them of luring African-American clients to sign off an inadequate settlement by providing free “fried chicken and barbecued ribs.”