The breakdown in Detroit's infrastructure is a major reason why the self-insured city is sued more than 700 times a year and has to pay out roughly $26 million to plaintiffs, according to a Reuters analysis yesterday. A significant portion of the legal tab—about $22 million a year—has resulted from settlements, budget records show. The settlements are negotiated by city lawyers, but ultimately must be approved by the city council. Now Detroit's emergency manager, Kevyn Orr, an attorney appointed to turn around the city's troubled finances, is seeking to break the pattern. To put an end to the relatively easy money for plaintiffs, Orr in late May rejected a handful of settlements that Detroit's city council had recently approved. Orr's intervention is aimed at reducing the number of settlements, particularly in cases deemed to be without merit.
