Detroit asking water main flood victims to sign a waiver. We had 2 lawyers

In the days after a water main break in southwest Detroit flooded homes and forced residents out on rafts , Jackie Muscat thought something was a little fishy with what she was being asked to sign: a liability waiver that had to be completed if she wanted city-sent contractors to fix her home.

But city communications officials say the document is part of a normal procedure when they go into homes for fixes and is not meant to waive any overall responsibility by the city in regards to the water main break flood. And amid community feedback and Free Press questioning Friday, the city altered the waiver with language that makes that clearer.

The waiver doesn’t remove “any option for the homeowner to file a claim or pursue other avenues for reimbursement,” said Bryan Peckinpaugh, public affairs director for the Detroit Water and Sewerage Department, or DWSD, in an email Friday. It only waives liability for issues that could arise out of repair and clean-up work done in the homes.

More: Southwest Detroit residents say water main break ‘was like a river going by’

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He also said all previously signed waivers will be honored as if they had been signed with the revision.

The prior version was being handed out in English and Spanish and the new one is being passed out in both languages, too, he said.

Detroit officials have promised swift action, repairs and reimbursements following the break in a 54-inch transmission line on Monday. By Monday afternoon, the entities behind Detroit’s water supply, the Great Lakes Water Authority and DWSD, already agreed to split any residents’ uninsured costs 50/50 between the two. An emergency hotline, 313-774-5261, was put in place the same day for anyone needing shelter, needing rides to work, or with damages. By mid-week, the city had claims forms available online in English and Spanish.

Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan has been credited for the cutting through of red tape, and said anyone with damages should start the process by calling their insurance companies, if they have them. DWSD Director Gary Brown has said when it comes to insurance deductibles, filers could include them on their claim form and a third-party insurance adjuster would work with them to make them whole. Faced with numerous questions trying to break down what losses, costs and missed work the city will help cover, officials have said residents should be able to file a city claim for everything.

Still, speaking Thursday at a metro Detroit hotel where officials were funding her stay after the flood, Muscat expressed concern about the waiver. It first came up when a city inspector checked out her home after the flooding.

The flooding cracked a wall in her family’s basement, destroyed a bathroom, damaged the plumbing, and left the furnace and water heater in need of replacement, she said Thursday. And while they had power, they were without heat or water.

The mother of four children under 14 said some residents were signing the waiver out of desperation without fully understanding its implications.

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“It’s a little fishy to me,” she said. “We could sign this waiver and (the city) could slightly clean, give us a water heater, but the house foundation — if we sign this and they don’t fix that, then the house is unlivable. So we could be screwing ourselves by signing this waiver. … We need to get back, so people may have already signed, and we’re really not knowing what we’re consenting to.”

Two lawyers, who were contacted Friday by the Detroit Free Press and asked to review the initial waiver as provided by the city, agreed the intent was to waive liability specific to any issues that could arise during a repair or clean-up and not to wholesale waive liability for damages from the flood. One of the lawyers noted he’d like the city to make a clarification in the language of the waiver to be sure, but said it was probably risk managed given the public statements by the city on their intent behind the waiver.

The waiver – old and new – states that the property owner releases the city “from all liability for damage done to the property during the cleaning, sanitizing, repair, and replacement process” and does not release the city from liability for damages that residents could be entitled to “under any federal, state or local laws related to the water main break that occurred on February 17, 2025 and basement flooding or backup.”

Of concern for lawyer John Hubbard, of the Plymouth and Florida-based Hubbard, Snitchler, and Parzianello law firm, was another section of the old waiver form. It stated the property owner agreed to accept the services “in exchange for the valuable consideration of Property Owner releasing City of Detroit from all liability resulting from the Incident.”

That’s a section that just clarifies what the exchange is – what both parties are giving up – so the contract can be valid, but Hubbard wanted the city to clarify that the “Incident” was the remedial work, not the break itself, he said. Otherwise, that section could contradict the other part of the waiver listing what it did and didn’t release the city from.

Again, Hubbard said it was probably risk managed given the public statements by the city on their intent behind the waiver. However, after the Free Press raised the concern, Peckinpaugh provided a new version of the waiver that would be used going forward. The new version states the services would be provided “in exchange for the valuable consideration of Property Owner releasing the City of Detroit from all liability for any damage that may occur to the home during the process of inspecting, cleaning and repairing home damage caused by the original February 17 flood incident.”

Mark Dotson, a Cooley Law School professor, reviewed the prior version of the contract and said it was “pretty clean.” He also said that the wider scope of what the city is doing should be taken into consideration.

First and foremost, the city is trying to make sure they have the legal OK to be on the property, he said. Second, the city doesn’t know what they are walking into necessarily, and there’s the chance, especially with older homes that may have been in bad condition anyway, that remedial work could cause damage itself. The city is trying to protect themselves from that.

But a key factor is that if residents attempt to sue the city for damage in the break, the city may not be found liable by a court, by the description of the experts.

Dotson said cities are often immune in these situations.

Hubbard said that, too, in an additional email: that claims against a city are subject to governmental immunity unless homeowners can demonstrate the city’s actions were “markedly careless and reckless, going well beyond ordinary negligence.”

“This is a very high standard to meet,” he said. “In short, the homeowner has to balance the risk of the city repairs causing new problems against the home owner handling the entire matter themselves. It’s a trade of a known problem against a risk of poor performance by the City’s contractors.”

Dotson said residents don’t have a ton of options, but whether they have already signed the waiver or had contractors in their homes, they should call any insurance company they have right away. They need to start discussing coverage and the waiver with their company, and he noted some insurance companies might prefer to send its own contractor or be present for the city work. He also noted waiting could make some necessary repairs worse.

His main message for residents: “Regardless of what the city is doing, regardless of requirements of the waiver, they need to notify their insurance company.” He said they should do it now.

Peckinpaugh said the city has provided such waivers during prior incidents, and emailed a copy tied to 2021 rainstorms to prove it. The documents and Peckinpaugh also clarified the following:

The waiver must be signed before any of the basement cleaning and repairs can be performed on their property by a city contractor.
Residents are being asked to sign the documents as the inspector visits their property.
Those who decline to sign the waiver will not get the city contractor services, but can still file a notice of damage claim with the city.
Residents can opt out of the city work, pay by themselves, and then file a city claim for the work, but the city prefers their contractors for efficiency.
For city purposes, right now residents only need to review and sign the waiver and submit a notice of claim. The notice of claim can be completed within 45 days, and the claims team may ask for additional documentation such as receipts and photos later on.
Residents only need to file the claim with DWSD and don’t need to file with the Great Lakes Water Authority.
Basement cleaning was slated to begin Friday. One contractor was in place, with others expected to start Monday.

Angelica Viejita, 43, speaking at the same metro Detroit hotel as Muscat on Thursday, had also expressed concern about the waiver.

But speaking by phone Friday through her daughter, with whom she spoke Spanish, her family confirmed they had decided to sign the waiver.

Her daughter, Nataly Rosario, 14, said there has been confusion among multiple people about what the waiver said. Ultimately, her father reviewed the documents, explained them, and “that helped.”

Photojournalist David Rodriguez Muñoz contributed to this report.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Two lawyers review Detroit water main break work waiver: what to know

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