If you live in Michigan, you may be eligible to claim money from several active class action lawsuits in Michigan right now, including the Flint water settlement, a state unemployment agency payout, and multiple data breach cases. Each has its own eligibility rules, deadlines, and payment amounts, and a few are still open to late claimants in 2026.
Settlements Currently Paying or Accepting Claims
Flint Water Crisis
The Flint water settlement, valued at over $626 million, is the largest connected to Michigan. It compensates residents harmed after the city’s drinking water was contaminated with lead following a 2014 change in water source. Final judicial approval came in 2023, and payments are now going out in stages.
As of mid-2026, 10,546 award letters have been issued for residential property damage claims, with payments rolling out since December 2025. The maximum property award is $1,000 per residential address, divided among all approved claimants at that address.
U.S. District Judge Judith Levy authorized payments to adults with approved personal injury claims on March 23, 2026. More than 12,000 adult claimants have approved injury claims, and payments will come in two installments; the second and final payment will follow once outstanding appeals are resolved. Payments for minors, who are entitled to the majority of the funds, require structured settlements or trusts and are still being prepared.
Of the roughly 11,000 approved individuals in the first three payment groups, about 8,127 had completed their payment elections as of early June 2026. The court-appointed Special Master has warned claimants about phishing scams and stated that the only authorized contact number for the Distribution Administrator is 1-888-893-7470.
Saunders v. Michigan Unemployment Insurance Agency
Workers who were ordered by the Michigan Unemployment Insurance Agency to repay jobless benefits before their appeals were resolved secured a $55 million settlement in Kellie Saunders, et al. v. State of Michigan Unemployment Insurance Agency, et al. (Case No. 22-000007-MM), filed in the Michigan Court of Claims. The court granted final approval on May 13, 2025, and mailed payments for valid, timely claims on August 1, 2025.
The class covers people from whom the UIA collected money while a timely protest or appeal was pending, after a claimant was unable to access protest services, or after a protest was never processed or was deleted. The relevant filings run from March 1, 2020, through April 25, 2024.
The original claim deadline has passed, but late claims may still be submitted through bwclassactions.com, subject to court approval. Potential payments for late claimants are expected to be determined by approximately fall 2026. The UIA did not admit liability, and participating workers agreed to release all claims against the agency.
McLaren Health Care Data Breach
The Genesee County Circuit Court gave final approval on April 21, 2026, to a $14 million settlement in Womack-Devereaux, et al. v. McLaren Health Care Corp. (Case No. 24-121459). The case arose from two ransomware attacks: an August 2023 breach attributed to the ALPHV/BlackCat group that affected roughly 2.5 million people, and a 2024 breach linked to the Inc Ransom group that affected more than 740,000.
Class members were eligible for up to $5,000 in documented loss payments, a pro rata cash payment for claimants without documentation, and one year of credit monitoring and identity theft protection. McLaren also agreed to enhance its data security. The company admitted no wrongdoing.
700Credit Data Breach
U.S. District Judge Robert White granted preliminary approval on June 4, 2026, to a proposed $17.5 million settlement in In re 700 Credit Data Security Litigation (Case No. 2:25-cv-13747). The case involves an October 2025 breach in which unauthorized access to a web application exposed the names, addresses, dates of birth, and Social Security numbers of about 5.8 million consumers who applied for financing at automotive dealerships served by 700Credit.
Under the proposed terms, class members may claim up to $2,500 for documented fraud-related losses or take an estimated $50 cash payment without documentation. All class members would receive two years of credit monitoring. A final approval hearing is set for December 15, 2026, in the Eastern District of Michigan. 700Credit denies wrongdoing.
Lansing Community College Data Breach
A $1.45 million settlement was reached in In re Lansing Community College Data Breach Litigation (Case No. 1:23-cv-00738) in the Western District of Michigan. The breach involved an unauthorized intrusion into the college’s systems between December 2022 and March 2023 that potentially compromised names and Social Security numbers of employees, students, and vendors. Benefits include reimbursement for documented losses up to $2,000 per person and alternative cash payments. Distribution has been delayed by an appeal; as of March 2026, the court ordered the objector to advance the appeal by April 1, 2026, or face denial.
National Settlements Open to Michigan Residents
Michigan residents may also claim from national settlements with mid-2026 deadlines. According to the Lansing State Journal, active ones include:
- Tyson and Cargill beef price-fixing, an $87.5 million settlement covering alleged price-fixing from 2014 to 2019 in 26 states including Michigan. Deadline: June 30, 2026.
- Lakeview Loan Servicing data breach, a $26 million settlement tied to an October 2021 breach. Deadline: June 22, 2026.
- Trader Joe’s FACTA violation, a $7.4 million settlement over prohibited information printed on receipts. Deadline: June 9, 2026.
- Complete Payroll Solutions data breach, a $2.6 million settlement tied to a March 2024 breach. Deadline: June 18, 2026.
- Krispy Kreme data breach, a $1.6 million settlement over a breach discovered in November 2024. Deadline: June 22, 2026.
PFAS Water Contamination Cases
Michigan is a focal point for litigation over PFAS, the synthetic “forever chemicals” linked to health risks in drinking water. The most relevant resolved consumer case is a class action against 3M and Georgia-Pacific in Parchment, which settled for $11.9 million in April 2021 after paper mill landfill contamination tainted the city’s water. The settlement class included anyone who owned, leased, or resided in properties served by the Parchment water system as of July 26, 2018, and affected roughly 3,000 residents.
PFAS claims in Michigan face particular hurdles. The state generally applies a three-year statute of limitations, and whether medical monitoring is available as a remedy remains unsettled after the Michigan Supreme Court’s decision in Henry v. Dow Chemical Co. Michigan’s product liability statutes also give manufacturers defenses that can complicate claims.
Does v. Whitmer: Sex Offender Registry Challenge
Not every active Michigan class action seeks money. In Does v. Whitmer (No. 22-cv-10209), the ACLU of Michigan represents a class of people on the state’s sex offender registry, challenging the constitutionality of the Sex Offenders Registration Act as amended in 2021.
U.S. District Judge Mark Goldsmith issued a mixed ruling in March 2025. The court held that certain provisions violate the Constitution’s ban on retroactive punishment when applied to people convicted before 2011 and struck down requirements that registrants report email addresses and internet identifiers or attest to understanding their duties. The court also enjoined the state from requiring registration of people with out-of-state convictions until the legislature creates a constitutional process for judicial review. The court ruled for the state on several other claims.
The state appealed. The Sixth Circuit granted a partial stay in June 2025, placing the district court’s relief on retroactive registration and out-of-state convictions on hold during the appeal. Mediation failed in September 2025. Briefing is complete, and oral argument is scheduled for July 21, 2026.
How Michigan Class Action Rules Work
Michigan class actions are governed by Michigan Court Rule 3.501, which differs from the federal system in ways that can affect whether and how a case proceeds.
The most distinctive feature is a strict deadline. Plaintiffs must file a motion for class certification within 91 days of filing the complaint or risk having their class allegations struck. Federal Rule 23 has no comparable deadline.
Other differences worth knowing:
- All class members in Michigan have the right to opt out, regardless of the type of case. Federal rules make that right mandatory only in certain categories.
- Michigan does not divide class actions into the three procedural categories federal Rule 23 uses.
- Michigan Court Rule 3.501 bars class actions seeking statutory penalties or minimum recovery amounts unless the underlying statute specifically allows it. This effectively keeps certain consumer claims, including Telephone Consumer Protection Act suits, from proceeding as class actions in Michigan state courts.
- Michigan courts can revoke class certification at any time, without requiring changed circumstances. Federal courts have narrower grounds for altering certification.
In practice, many significant Michigan class actions are filed in federal court, especially in the Eastern and Western Districts, where cases involving interstate defendants, federal claims, or amounts exceeding $5 million typically land.
How To Join, Claim, or Opt Out
Most class actions in Michigan are structured as “opt-out” cases. Eligible people are automatically included as class members without doing anything. You only need to take action in two situations: when you want to file a claim to receive money from a settlement, or when you want to opt out so you can bring your own individual lawsuit.
When a settlement is reached, class members typically receive notice by mail or email explaining their options and deadlines. Filing a claim usually means completing a form online or by mail before a specified deadline. Some settlements pay a flat amount regardless of documentation; others provide higher compensation to claimants who submit proof of losses.
Opting out requires affirmatively notifying the court or settlement administrator before the deadline stated in the class notice. If you stay in the class and accept benefits, you generally waive the right to sue separately over the same claims. There is no cost to participate; attorney fees and expenses are typically paid from the settlement fund after court approval.
A smaller number of cases, particularly wage-and-hour disputes under federal law, are “opt-in” actions in which workers must affirmatively elect to join. The class notice will say which type applies.