Gov. Rick Snyder
Gov. Rick Snyder
The legal tab for an outside law firm to represent Gov. Rick Snyder in civil lawsuits tied to the Flint drinking water crisis is costing taxpayers close to $6,500 a day, the Detroit Free Press reports.
Records show Snyder spent almost the entire $400,000 allocated for the legal contract in February and March alone, Paul Egan of the Freep reports:
Barris, Sott, Denn & Driker of Detroit, hired to represent Snyder in connection with a raft of Flint civil lawsuits in which he is named as a defendant, billed the state $343,702 between Feb. 8, when the firm started work, and March 31, according to records obtained by the Free Press under Michigan’s Freedom of Information Act.
The State Administrative Board was told March 8 the contract, which provides for legal fees as high as $540 per hour for attorney Eugene Driker, was capped at $400,000. If the rate of billing from February and March continued into April, the cap for the contract would have been exceeded by April 11. That means Snyder's total outside legal fees charged to the state will almost certainly exceed the $1.2-million figure quoted in March. The cost of criminal defense representation for Snyder, which is covered under a separate contract with Warner, Norcross & Judd, is capped at $800,000.
Critics say Snyder should rely on state lawyers from the attorney general or use money from a legal defense fund.
