Flood Claims Deadline Approaches, Three Ways to Know Your Rights
(Crystal A. Proxmire, Sept. 9, 2014)
 
Residents impacted by the flood of Aug. 11, 2014 have 45 days to file a claim for damages against any government entity that may have been responsible. With a Sept. 25 deadline many people are wondering what they should do.  Most cities say that the chances of a claim being covered are low, but that people should file the claim anyhow.
 
Below are three options, and it is possible to do all three:
1.  Every city affected by the flood has forms that residents can fill out. Most cities have them online and in the city clerk’s office.
2.  Sign up with Macuga, Liddle and Dubin, P.C. for having them file on your behalf, and potentially include you in a class action suit. They are a law firm that specializes in class action lawsuits, including flooding. Steven Liddle explained “We are still looking into what happened and if a lawsuit would be appropriate. But the 45 day window is important because anyone that could be part of a claim or a suit needs to fill out their form by then. Most people will file with their city, but what we will do is file the forms on their behalf with governmental agencies they may not even think of, like the County, the State, surrounding cities, anybody who may be connected so that if there is a possible claim the homeowner can be part of it.”
Filling out the form does not obligate anyone to take part in any lawsuit, and there is no charge for using their service. It does mean that if there are any class action suits, the people who filed a claim form will be notified and could have the option of getting involved.  One example where this could be useful is if you file a claim with the City of Royal Oak, but it turns out that MDOT was at fault, you would not be eligible for compensation, unless you had also filed the claim with MDOT as well.
A history of their cases can be found on their website, including a 2000 case where they recovered millions of dollars on behalf of residents of numerous metro Detroit communities arising from flooding that occurred in 1998. These communities included Dearborn Heights, Inkster, Taylor, Redford Township, Garden City, Warren, Clinton Township, Mount Clemens, Birmingham and Beverly Hills. In 2002 they lobbied the state to allow residents to seek damages in cases of sewer backups, and in 2004 they won the first case litigated under the new law. Numerous other cases are listed at http://mldclassaction.com/history-of-our-firm/#sthash.uEITZVlu.dpbs.
To fill out the form to have your claims submitted by Macuga, Liddle and Dubin, P.C. go to http://mldclassaction.com/classaction/august-11-2014-basement-flooding-information/#sthash.swoWvn73.dpbs.
3.  Attend the Protecting Your Flood Rights Claim for Compensation class being presented by the Oakland County Bar Association. The free class is Wed., Sept. 17 at 7:30pm Ferndlae Public Library 222 E 9 Mile Road. Attorney Justin Smith from the Law Offices of Justin L. Smith will do a short presentation of what you need to do to protect your flood rights claim for compensation.