LANSING, MI – The Michigan Court of Claims has denied the state’s motion for summary disposition, allowing a lawsuit over the 2020 Edenville Dam failure to proceed to trial in January.
The case centers on allegations that the state was negligent in its handling of the dam, which failed during heavy rains in May 2020, forcing more than 10,000 residents to evacuate during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The disaster destroyed 2,500 homes and businesses and caused hundreds of millions of dollars in damages. The dam’s collapse also triggered the failure of the downstream Sanford Dam in Midland County.
“This ruling ensures this case will proceed to trial, where substantial questions about the State’s conduct leading up to the Edenville dam failure will be evaluated,” attorneys for the plaintiffs said in a statement. “We look forward to presenting our case in January.”
The lawsuit claims Michigan shares responsibility for the disaster through its Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy and Department of Natural Resources. The suit alleges the state allowed former dam owner Boyce Hydro to raise water levels in Wixom Lake.
Built in 1924, the Edenville Dam sits at the confluence of the Tittabawassee River and Tobacco River, about one mile north of Edenville. The structure spans parts of Gladwin and Midland counties and created Wixom Lake by holding back river waters.
Heavy rains caused water levels to rise on both rivers before the dam’s eastern section collapsed, sending floodwaters downstream and prompting evacuation orders for neighboring communities.
In his ruling, Judge James Redford found that “the record presents genuine issues of material fact regarding whether the actions that EGLE took with respect to the Edenville Dam upon learning of FERC’s decision to revoke its license were a substantial cause of the dam’s failure and the corresponding property damage suffered by plaintiffs.”