Lawyers for the city of Detroit and a retiree committee have reached an agreement to protect committee members from potential lawsuits from retirees unhappy with pension cuts, the Detroit Free Press reported today. A lawyer for the nine-member retiree committee last week asked Bankruptcy Judge Steven Rhodes to force Detroit to pay for a $602,000 insurance policy to cover legal costs for committee members if any of the 23,500 retirees sue the members individually. Judge Rhodes had questioned the pricetag which the city must cover because it is responsible for the committee’s expenses, and noted the money might be better spent improving emergency services for the city. Yesterday, retiree committee lawyer Carole Neville announced that an agreement has been reached but said she did not want to reveal terms of the settlement during the hearing. Lawyer Heather Lennox, who represents the city, confirmed there is an agreement which protects the committee. An order with the details will be filed with the court “expeditiously.”
