Hamtramck council approves joining national PFOS litigation, authorizes contingent-fee legal agreement

Hamtramck’s emergency City Council voted to authorize a contingent-fee legal services agreement to let the city join a nationwide lawsuit against manufacturers over PFOS contamination.

Finance and water staff told the council the litigation stems from liability tied to PFOS chemicals and that affected communities have already seen settlements in the multi‑billion‑dollar range. “The deadline to become part of this lawsuit is June 30,” said a city finance/water staff presenter during the discussion, urging the council to join so the city can participate in testing and any eventual distribution of recovery funds. The presenter said the firm being proposed has worked on the case for multiple communities and that engineering firms would sample the water source used by the region to establish each community’s share.

Council members asked procedural questions about contingency payments and how claims are apportioned; city legal counsel noted that in similar class‑action matters a judge commonly approves the fee percentage for class counsel. The staff presenter also said the proposed agreement, as discussed, would require no out‑of‑pocket payment by the city: the firm would be paid only from any recovery obtained on Hamtramck’s behalf.

The council took a roll‑call vote and approved resolution 2026‑73. Clerk Clark read affirmative responses from the members present. Staff said joining the case will allow testing of the city’s water source (the presenter identified the regional supplier used by Hamtramck) and enable the city to preserve any claim before the June 30 deadline.

The council did not provide an exact contingency percentage in the meeting; presenters said the percentage can be handled by the court in a class action. City staff indicated the settlement distribution formula would be based on the amount of water drawn from the shared source and the measured contaminant levels. The resolution was approved during the special meeting and staff were authorized to execute the agreement and proceed with required sampling and deadlines.