A judge for the US District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan [official website] on Wednesday dismissed [text, PDF] the state of Michigan and Governor Rick Snyder from a class action lawsuit concerning injuries resulting from the Flint water crisis, saying the government officials are given sovereign immunity.

Under the Eleventh Amendment, state governments and officials, acting in their official capacities, are given sovereign immunity in many private actions brought against them, as well as many actions brought against the state in federal court. Such actions include most personal injury lawsuits.

The court, however, did not dismiss all state defendants, including the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality (MDEQ) defendants. In the 128-page opinion, the court said MDEQ defendants were not acting as federal agents during the Flint water crisis events, thus they are not given sovereign immunity.

The court further dismissed several causes of action in the lawsuit, including: negligence, gross negligence, fraud and Equal Protection. The case will continue against the remaining defendants and claims.

The Flint water crisis has flooded both civil and criminal courts. In June Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette[official website] announced charges [press release] against five former Flint officials [JURIST report] for their part in the Flint water crisis, including Michigan Department of Health and Human Services Director Nick Lyon, former Flint Emergency Manager Darnell Earley, former City of Flint Water Department Manager Howard Croft, Michigan Department of Environmental Quality’s Drinking Water Chief Liane Shekter-Smith and Water Supervisor Stephen Busch. In December Michigan’s Attorney General announced [JURIST report] that felony charges were filed against four former state officials connected with the Flint water crisis, with maximum prison sentences of 46 years available to the prosecutors. That same month a federal court affirmed [JURIST report] a lower court decision requiring the state of Michigan to provide bottled water to Flint residents.