State attorneys argued the relief Bryant sought wasn’t warranted partly because the city of Flint is in compliance with the federal Lead and Copper Rule.
"He further stated he intended to abandon the home, which was damaged due to a pipe that had burst," the state’s response to the lawsuit stated, a point that was debated in court on Friday, with Bryant’s attorney arguing his client does want to return to his home but it’s not safe to do so because of lead in the water.
Teams of attorneys for both the state defendants and Bryant appeared in court on Friday, along with Flint city attorneys.
He argued the state hasn’t done enough to address the Flint water crisis to warrant discontinuing bottled water distribution.
Defending his client, Shkolnik said Bryant left his home to care for his mother, who has since died, and his intention was always to move back to his home on Oren Avenue eventually.
At that point in the hearing, the judge decided to get Bryant on the phone.
He seemed to indicate he didn’t trust that simply installing a filter was going to solve his water problems.
The state’s decision to discontinue bottled water came after testing under the Lead and Copper Rule showed Flint’s 90th-percentile lead levels were at 4 ppb in sampling this year.
He argued the state should have to pay for bottled water for them until the problem is fixed.
The judge offered to give the state attorneys Bryant’s phone number to try to make that happen.