Researchers at LMU Munich have shown that sleep enhances the migratory potential of T cells toward lymph nodes.
Sleep is healthy—this popular knowledge is backed by science. Previous research had already shown that in people who slept after a vaccination, the immune response was twice as strong on average as in people who did not sleep during the night after the vaccination. However, the cell biological reasons for this had been little investigated before now.
A team led by Professor Luciana Besedovsky from the Institute of Medical Psychology has now demonstrated that sleep promotes the potential of immune cells—so-called T cells—to migrate toward lymph nodes. The researchers have reported their findings in the journal Brain, Behavior, and Immunity.
Significant differences after sleepless night
The scientists repeatedly examined the concentration of various subgroups of T cells in the blood of a cohort of healthy men and women over the course of two 24-hour sessions. In one of the two test conditions, the participants were allowed to sleep at night for eight hours, while in the other they relaxed in bed at night but stayed awake. A forearm catheter connected to an adjacent room by means of a tube enabled blood collection without disturbing the participant's sleep.
Analysis of the blood samples revealed significant differences between the test conditions. "Our results show that sleep promotes the migratory potential of various T-cell subpopulations," says Besedovsky.
Migration of T cells toward lymph nodes
As the researchers demonstrated, sleep increases the directed migration of T cells toward a signaling protein, the so-called "homing" chemokine CCL19. This molecule mediates the migration of T cells, which possess the corresponding receptor for CCL19, to the lymph nodes, where the T cell immune defenses are "trained" by being presented with antigens—for example, after a vaccination.
In further experiments, the researchers showed that incubating T cells with blood plasma taken from sleeping participants likewise increased the migratory potential. "This demonstrates that soluble factors that are elevated in blood plasma during sleep mediate the effect of sleep on T-cell migration. So we can in a way recreate the effect of sleep in the lab using the blood plasma of sleeping persons," reports Besedovsky.
The scientists identified growth hormone and prolactin as the decisive factors for this migration behavior. Both hormones showed sleep-dependent changes in concentration in the plasma, with higher values among the participants who slept during the night.
"Our results also have potential clinical implications," says Besedovsky. "Thus, growth hormone and prolactin could be considered as new adjuvants to promote immune responses following vaccination, especially in aged people, who typically display reduced levels of these hormones during sleep."
Overall, the authors see the study as an important step for better understanding why sleep supports immune responses—for example, after vaccination—and why vaccines are often less effective in older people.
More information: EstefanÃa MartÃnez-Albert et al, Sleep promotes T-cell migration towards CCL19 via growth hormone and prolactin signaling in humans, Brain, Behavior, and Immunity (2024). DOI: 10.1016/j.bbi.2024.02.021
A University of Colorado Department of Medicine faculty member says she and her colleagues have identified the means in which bacteria in the digestive system can break down tryptophan in the diet into an inflammatory chemical that primes the immune system towards arthritis.
The research was co-authored by Kristine Kuhn, MD, Ph.D., Scoville Endowed Chair and head of the CU Division of Rheumatology. Several of her division colleagues collaborated on the paper, which was published in February in the Journal of Clinical Investigation.
Tryptophan is an essential amino acid found in many protein-rich foods, including meats, fish, dairy products, and certain seeds and nuts. It has many uses in the body, including helping in the production of proteins, muscles, enzymes, and neurotransmitters—the nervous system's chemical messengers. The body doesn't make it; we get it from our diet.
Many people think of tryptophan as the ingredient in turkey that supposedly makes us sleepy after a Thanksgiving feast. In fact, researchers say that although tryptophan plays a role in helping to regulate the sleep cycle, the amount that's in turkey probably isn't a significant cause of post-dinner drowsiness.
Cause and effect
Kuhn and her associates set out to learn how a substance that often is a force for good in the body is converted into a pathway to inflammatory diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis, which affects about 1% of the population. It can cause painful swelling of the hands and feet, and joint deformities if left untreated.
"It's been known that the microbiome—the bacteria in our gut—can break down tryptophan into byproducts. Some of those byproducts are anti-inflammatory, but we've also associated some inflammatory causes of those products," Kuhn says. "We're the first to highlight which products are contributing to inflammation, and how they are doing that."
She says the new research "builds upon some observations we had in patients with spondyloarthritis—not quite rheumatoid arthritis, but a closely related condition—where we found that changes in the microbiome were associated with increased production of these products called indoles, which are what bacteria make from tryptophan." Similar changes were observed in arthritis studies involving mice, she says.
"We put mice on antibiotics to wipe out their microbiome, and they didn't get arthritis, and they didn't have indole," she says. "So we said, OK, what if they do have a microbiome and we put them on a diet with little tryptophan? The microbiome can't break down tryptophan into indole, and the mice didn't get arthritis. So two different ways, we showed that it's tryptophan that's broken down by the microbiome into indole."
Inflammatory flags
So how does that work? "We found that when indole is present, the mice start to develop autoreactive T-cells that are more inflammatory. They have less of those regulatory T-cells that help maintain balance in the immune system, and they start to develop antibodies that are more pathogenic. We found that the antibodies had flags for being more inflammatory when indole was present."
The paper concludes that "blockade of indole generation may present a unique therapeutic pathway" for rheumatoid arthritis and spondyloarthritis. That's all about finding the right path for the body's tryptophan, Kuhn says.
"If tryptophan hits our body's cells, it tends to go get broken down into anti-inflammatory products versus when it hits the bacterial cells and goes more inflammatory. The ways we think about how this could lead to therapies are: How do you keep that balance tipped so that tryptophan goes towards that anti-inflammatory pathway? How can you manipulate intestinal bacteria to tip that balance? That's where we're interested in going in the future."
Does Kuhn's research suggest we should be eating differently? "I get asked that a lot," she says. "A diet that's rich in plant-based fibers and lean meats—this whole Mediterranean diet—seems to push the microbiome into a healthier state, so that you are getting the anti-inflammatory properties of tryptophan, whereas the typical western diet seems to go more toward the inflammatory pathway."
As for other ways to protect against arthritis, Kuhn says that through research by her Division of Rheumatology colleagues, "we have started to understand the at-risk stage, where we can actually identify people who are likely to progress to rheumatoid arthritis within the next few years based on blood markers. There's some data that suggests we could intervene during that period and prevent disease, but we're not quite sure yet what are the right ways to intervene."
More information: Brenda J. Seymour et al, Microbiota-dependent indole production stimulates the development of collagen-induced arthritis in mice, Journal of Clinical Investigation (2023). DOI: 10.1172/JCI167671
In the clinical experience ofMio Nakamura, MD, MS, providing dermatologic care to patients withpersonality disordersrequires a certain level of flexibility and adaptability.
"You want to recognize the personality disorder, understand that there are underlying conflicts and needs, and adjust accordingly," Nakamura, clinical assistant professor of dermatology at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, said at the annual meeting of the American Academy of Dermatology.
Personality disorders, which she defined as enduring patterns of maladaptive thinking and behavior that deviate from the cultural norm, affect up to 15% of the general population and can be difficult "if not impossible to treat, which can be frustrating." She shared her approach to providing dermatologic care for individuals with these three conditions:
Borderline personality disorder (BPD). This condition is marked by instability in interpersonal relationships, self-image, and emotions. Affected individuals are usually impulsive and often demonstrate self-injurious conduct such as risky sexual behaviors, cutting, or suicide attempts. "They often express feelings of emptiness, a fear of abandonment, and they are labile and sensitive to environmental circumstances," Nakamura said. "They can be needy and display inappropriate, intense anger."
In her clinical experience, a patient's presenting dermatologic complaint is often a "screen" to hide a real, inner psychological problem, "a need to fill the emptiness," she explained. "They're kind of lonely, and there is a fear of abandonment. Rejection is frequently perceived as abandonment, creating intense anger and other negative emotions such as splitting."
She advises against providing tests, treatments, or procedures for individuals with BPD that are not clinically indicated. "If the test is negative, such patients may ask for further testing," she said. "Especially for cosmetic procedures, the patient may be more dissatisfied with the outcome of a procedure compared to before. Don't let the patient's emotions cloud your judgement. Trying to reason with the patient is often ineffective."
To avoid saying "no" to such patients, Nakamura recommended discussing other treatment options so that they don't feel abandoned. "Show that you care," she said. "Meet the patient's emotional needs, which may be the real agenda, and schedule regular follow-ups."
Obsessive-compulsive personality disorder (OCPD). This condition is characterized by a preoccupation with orderliness, perfectionism, and control. "OCPD individuals are excessively concerned with details, rules, and organization to the extent that the major point of the activity is often lost," Nakamura said. "They can be over-conscientious with excessive regard for morality and ethics."
Such patients often fear losing control, she continued, which can lead to anxiety, depression, and sometimes anger. During office visits with patients with OCPD, she recommends that dermatologists "focus on facts and knowledge to replace or subdue emotions. Knowledge and information give a sense of control over illness." Her approach involves professional, structured encounters that include detailed explanations and plans. "Provide step-by-step written instructions and give specific reasons for the prescribed treatment," Nakamura advised. "Schedule regular follow-up appointments."
Narcissistic personality disorder (NPD). This condition is characterized by a grandiose sense of self-importance, in which the person believes that they are special, unique, and superior to others. These individuals have a sense of entitlement, fantasize about unlimited success or power, display a lack of empathy toward others, and show a constant need for admiration. "The patient's personality traits are often a 'screen' to hide a real, inner psychological problem such as unrecognized low self-esteem or insecurity," Nakamura said. "These patients need praise and a sense of power."
To provide patients with NPD with "a sense of uniqueness," she recommended engaging with them at a medical level as one might with a work colleague. "Such patients often respond better to respect and concern rather than warmth and caring," she said. Asking them to make decisions about their care can also give them a sense of power: asking them, for example, about which type of topical steroid they might prefer from those in the same class, whether they prefer creams or ointments, and that they can choose to follow up in 4 weeks or 6 weeks.
"Do not let the patient dictate the encounter [or] get under your skin," Nakamura emphasized. "Be careful about rejecting the patient from your practice. Even though that is perfectly within your rights, it could lead to 'narcissistic injury' where the patient becomes very angry and wants to get back at you."
Nakamura disclosed that she is an investigator for Amgen, argenx, Boehringer Ingelheim, Bristo-Meyers Squibb, Pfizer, and Regeneron. She is also a member of the advisory board for argenx, Boehringer Ingelheim, and Bristol-Myers Squibb.
Iowa State House Republicans passed a fetal personhood bill Thursday evening, the latest as the national debate on in vitro fertilization (IVF) continues.
The bill, H.B. 2575, increases the penalty for the nonconsensual ending of a pregnancy, making it a felony and increasing jail time.
Opponents are taking issue because the bill changes the current language from “terminating a human pregnancy” to the “death of or serious injury to an unborn person.” They argue it is another attack on abortion since Roe v. Wade was struck down, CBS 2 Iowa reported.
According to the bill, an unborn person is considered “an individual organism the species homo sapiens from fertilization to live birth.”
Under Iowa law, a class A felony is punishable by up to a mandatory life sentence without the possibility of parole. A person who causes the death of an unborn person “without the consent of the pregnant person” would be guilty of a class A felony, NBC news reported.
A person who unintentionally causes the death of an unborn person would be guilty of a class B felony, according to the bill. A class B felony is punishable by up to 25 years in prison under Iowa law.
Iowa Republicans passed the bill just weeks after the Alabama Supreme Court ruled that frozen embryos are children and clinics can be held liable for wrongful death if the embryos are destroyed, kick-starting a national conversation about IVF and post-Roe reproductive rights.
Alabama fertility clinics that paused IVF treatments due to the court ruling are gearing up to restart after the state passed a law that protects patients and clinics from legal liability.
Democrats in Iowa worry that the newly passed bill will have a larger impact on reproductive rights including birth control and IVF, CBS 2 reported.
“Iowa Republicans will stop at nothing to ban abortion, even if it means criminalizing people undergoing IVF treatments,” Iowa House Democratic Leader Rep. Jennifer Konfrst said in a statement. “The Alabama-style bill Republican politicians passed this week goes too far and Iowans are tired of politicians taking away their reproductive freedom.”
The bill passed the House and now moves on to the state Senate.
President Biden said he plans to triple the size of the American Climate Corps jobs program by the end of the decade during his State of the Union Speech.
“Patterned after the Peace Corps and AmeriCorps, I launched the Climate Corps to put 20,000 young people to work in the forefront of our clean energy future,” Biden said during the Thursday night speech.
“I’ll triple that number in a decade,” he continued.
Biden created the program last year — to much fanfare from progressives, who had pushed for the establishment of a climate jobs initiative.
When the Corps was announced last year, the administration said it would put people to work in areas including restoring lands and waters, deploying clean energy and implementing energy efficiency technology.
During his speech, Biden also appeared to question whether there was still climate denial among the members of Congress he was speaking before.
“I don’t think any of you think there’s no longer a climate crisis. At least I hope you don’t,” he said.
House Democrats are raising the alarm over possible interference with their probe into the Department of Homeland Security’s inspector general after he thanked Republican leaders for confirming he is not being investigated by two committees and claimed he is a whistleblower.
Democrats on the House’s Homeland Security Committee and Oversight and Accountability Committee focused on a series of correspondence with embattled Inspector General Joseph Cuffari.
In August and February letters, Cuffari implied he was not under investigation by the committees’ Democrats, explicitly thanking Oversight Committee Chair James Comer (R-Ky.) and Homeland Security Committee Chair Mark Green (R-Tenn.) over the summer for “confirming that I am not under investigation by your respective Committees.”
But Cuffari is under investigation by the panels’ Democrats, who are looking into him for failing to notify Congress of missing Secret Service text messages from Jan. 6, 2021, as well as for separately deleting text messages from his own phone that are required to be preserved. And he is also under investigation for his office’s agreement to a $1.17 million settlement with a former employee.
“Inspector General Cuffari’s assertion—which is putatively being used as a shield to obstruct our oversight— raises grave concerns about his judgement and respect for the process of congressional oversight,” Rep. Jamie Raskin (Md.), the top Democrat on the Oversight Committee, and Rep. Bennie Thompson (Miss.), the top Democrat on the Homeland Security Committee, wrote to Comer and Green in a letter obtained by The Hill.
“We certainly hope, and trust, that you have not counseled or advised Inspector General Cuffari on this matter. Imparting any signal or suggestion to Inspector General Cuffari that he is under no obligation to comply with our requests, simply because they are not coming from the Chairs of the Committees, would be an alarming breach of precedent.”
It’s not clear what communications Cuffari had with committee Republicans, but his February letter blasts Democrats for “incorrectly assert[ing] that the committees you lead were conducting an ‘investigation’ into my leadership of DHS OIG.”
Green’s office did not respond to a request for comment, but Comer’s office called the allegations “absurd.”
“The Oversight Committee majority is not currently investigating the DHS Office of the Inspector General and has never told anyone not to comply with the minority’s requests. If Ranking Member Raskin is looking for help with getting documents as part of the Democrats’ investigation, we can discuss that if he is willing to use his political capital to help us obtain documents about Joe Biden’s mental state and involvement in his family’s business dealings,” his office said in a statement.
Raskin’s office later countered that statement by describing Comer’s investigation into ties between President Biden and his son’s business dealing as “debunked.”
In another puzzling move, Cuffari also appeared to assert he is a whistleblower — sending his correspondence with markings reading “WHISTLEBLOWING DISCLOSURE – FOR COMMITTEE USE ONLY” despite being unable to qualify as a whistleblower given his status as the head of a department.
In his August letter, he also references his “protected whistleblowing communications with Congress” about a separate investigation he is facing from the Council of the Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency.
Democrats questioned whether in asserting such status Cuffuri “may be attempting (in vain) to shield himself from oversight” as well as prevent the release of his correspondence, which was also obtained by The Hill.
“Our staff made numerous attempts to engage with DHS OIG to obtain clarification and explanation on the blanket use of this marking and to determine whether Inspector General Cuffari was attempting in this unusual way to make a whistleblowing disclosure to Congress. However, DHS OIG staff failed to respond to our staff’s direct inquiries,” Raskin and Thompson wrote.
“While the Whistleblower Protection Act prohibits retaliation against most executive branch employees for making protected disclosures or engaging in protected activities, Inspector General Cuffari is the head of a federal agency and is thus is not covered by the Whistleblower Protection Act. His suggestion that our exercise of congressional oversight amounts to retaliation and his demand that you intervene are baffling and alarming and, to our knowledge, completely unprecedented.”
Cuffari in his most recent letter snubbed congressional Democrats, failing to reply directly to Raskin and Thompson and instead addressing his correspondence to Comer and Green.
It’s something Democrats called “a blatant and surprisingly churlish attempt to obstruct our oversight and raises serious concerns about whether he is in any way capable of acting in an independent and nonpartisan way, as is required by law of an inspector general.”
“As Chairmen of our respective Committees, we urge you to repudiate this strange, unprecedented and petulant action by the head of an Office of Inspector General (OIG) and assure us that you do not intend to condone or encourage Inspector General Cuffari’s persistent failure to comply with our requests.”
Cuffari’s office did not respond to request for comment. The Hill has not received a response to numerous requests for comment from Cuffari’s office since September 2022.
Cuffari, a former adviser on military issues for then-Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey (R), was nominated to his post by former President Trump in 2019, and he has since faced numerous investigations into his leadership.
Raskin and Thomspon called on Cuffari to hand over his Jan. 6 oversight to another entity after obtaining emails showing his deputy at one point abandoned efforts to obtain missing Jan. 6 text messages and then minimized the issue in a memo to DHS leadership.
And in another eyebrow-raising moment he told lawmakers he regularly deletes his own text messages, despite requirements to preserve them.
“It’s my normal practice to delete text messages,” Cuffari said in a June hearing, answering “correct” when Rep. Glenn Ivey (D-Md.) asked if he does this on an ongoing basis.
Cuffari had also sued the Council of the Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency in his personal capacity over its investigation into him, something that was dismissed by the judge who determined he failed to demonstrate how the body’s probe amounted to unlawful harassment.
Raskin and Thompson are also probing Cuffari’s $1.4 million contract with a law firm to investigate former employees, including the woman who would later get a $1.17 million settlement after Cuffari pushed to transition her to a DHS division that deals with countering weapons of mass destruction.
Under Cuffari’s leadership, the DHS Office of Inspector General has declined to investigate major events involving the agencies he helps oversee or imposed limits on their reach.
That includes declining to investigate after Border Patrol officers on horseback corralled Haitian migrants. Instead, the matter was handed off to its Office of Professional Responsibility.
In 2020, he refused to initiate an investigation into the Secret Service’s involvement and response to the clearing of protesters who had gathered in Lafayette Square just outside the White House that June to protest the murder of George Floyd at the hands of police.
And a prior bipartisan letter from the Senate Judiciary Committee asked Cuffari both about an unpublished report detailing widespread employee concerns over sexual harassment at DHS as well as a move by Cuffari to “substantially restrict” another report evaluating how the agency complied with a law requiring the removal of law enforcement officers with domestic violence convictions.
An anonymous letter from DHS Office of Inspector General employees asked President Biden to remove Cuffari from his post.
“We need help. We can no longer be silent when faced with continuous mismanagement of DHS OIG at its highest levels,” they wrote in the letter.
“IG Cuffari has made clear that he wishes to remain in his position, even in the face of prolonged, deserved criticism in the media, from Congress, from other oversight entities and from his own staff.”
Residents of Flint, Michigan, still haven't seen a penny from a $626.25 million legal settlement almost a decade after revelations their drinking water was poisoned by lead touched off a national outcry.
And there are still months of additional delays in store even as others connected with the lawsuit have been paid millions from the settlement fund announced in 2020, according to an analysis of court records by the Detroit Free Press, part of the USA TODAY Network.
Officials overseeing the claims administration process first said it would likely be completed by March 2023. As that deadline passed, residents were told they might expect payments around last Christmas. On Feb. 28, the "special master" helping the federal judge manage the case, attorney Deborah Greenspan, said initial claims review is targeted for completion around the end of June – with completion of requests for reconsideration and appeals to follow that.
Lawyers in line to collect before victims blame the state of Michigan for structuring the settlement so that claimants get paid last. As defendant in the case, the state put up the bulk of the settlement fund — $600 million.
"We ... would have preferred a streamlined process that allowed claims to be processed and paid out as they were completed and ensured everyone impacted by the crisis was paid and as quickly as possible," said Ted Leopold, a Florida attorney who is co-lead class counsel in the Flint case. However, "the state insisted on a grid in which the amount of every claim was dependent on every other claim and fairly high levels of documentation were required for each claim."
Danny Wimmer, spokesman for Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel, said Leopold should not be disclosing closed-door settlement discussions but the AG's Office "disagrees with many of Mr. Leopold's characterizations."
Under the terms of the settlement, no Flint claimant gets paid until all of the roughly 90,000 claims on behalf of about 46,000 Flint residents are fully resolved, including appeals. Meanwhile, lawyers say some residents who filed claims have already died; others have left the state.
That level of delay is not typical. In many class-action or mass tort cases, conservative payments are made to many claimants while the review process continues, with the understanding there could be supplemental payments later, after all claims are fully resolved.
Flint resident Carol Sewell, 68, blames the poisoned water for her brother's near death in 2016 and her painful rheumatoid arthritis. Her home still has a lead-tainted water heater she can't afford to replace, Sewell said in a February letter to U.S. District Judge Judith Levy.
"We still purchase bottled water with our food stamps," Sewell wrote. "Is there rightness or justice in the Flint Water Crisis, because I have yet to see it. It's left me with an anger I can't get rid of."
Flint's water crisis began in 2014 when a state-appointed emergency manager switched the city's drinking water supply from Lake Huron water treated in Detroit to Flint River water treated at the Flint Water Treatment Plant. It was intended as a temporary, cost-saving measure, but turned out to be a disastrous mistake. The Michigan Department of Environmental Quality has acknowledged it failed to require needed corrosion-control chemicals as part of the water treatment process. As a result, lead leached into the drinking water from pipes and fixtures.
"But I think in the end the quality of the work matters more than the speed, because if it were done in a sloppy, careless way, money would just be lost and would go to the wrong people," Levy said. "That's the last thing I would want to see happen."
Levy made those remarks after Greenspan observed that lawyers "don't get paid in advance," and will receive their money at the same time Flint residents do.
Though lawyers will have to wait in line with residents for most of the more than $200 million in fees they receive, it's not true to say they haven't been paid in advance. Top lawyers in the case, who worked on a contingency basis for as long as eight years, got tired of waiting for a share of their money. They asked Levy for preliminary payments, and she agreed.
Greenspan and contractors working on the claims review process and other settlement issues also bill the fund regularly and get paid. And lawyers have rung up millions more in expenses after the settlement was approved.
In addition to pre-paid attorney fees and expenses, just over $17 million in claims administration and related fees have now been paid from the fund, more than double the roughly $8 million that had been paid at this time last year, records show.
Here are the biggest total payments that have been made from the settlement fund so far:
$4.7 million to Archer Systems, the Houston-based company initially hired to set up the claims verification system and perform other duties.
$5.5 million to Wolf Garretson LLC of Ohio, one of two main firms that were unexpectedly brought in to help after significant problems were identified with the system set up by Archer. A share of that money has also gone to Pattern Data, a North Carolina company.
$3.8 million to Greenspan's law firm, Blank Rome of Washington, D.C.
$1.9 million to Alvarez & Marsal Disputes and Investigations, a Washington, D.C. firm brought on board along with Wolf Garretson.
Just under $600,000 to Miriam Wolock, a Michigan attorney who serves as "master guardian," working to protect the interests of children in the case.
Greenspan cited the complexity of the claims process in accounting for the delays, noting there are 30 different compensation categories, many residents have had difficulty producing required documents, and there have been challenges identifying qualified representatives for many minors in the case.
Also, after compiling mountains of data, processing it, and loading it into a claims review program in January and February of 2023, the claims administrator essentially had to restart that work in March 2023 after officials discovered major accuracy problems with the initial system, Greenspan said. Those unexpected problems resulted in not just delays, but added costs.
Greenspan said her office has since tried to ease the process by obtaining 2.6 million water customer billing records, 77,000 school enrollment records, 40,000 blood lead testing results, and 8,300 birth certificates, while also taking steps to ease verification of property ownership.
The Flint case has some class-action components, but it is also a "mass tort" case in which plaintiffs who were minors at the time of the lead poisoning are considered somewhat more on an individual basis than they are in a class-action lawsuit.
Flint water crisis settlement fund growing
There is some good news. The overall pot of money is growing.
Attorneys already have asked for $7.9 million in a motion connected to the $8 million LAN payout. That motion, up for consideration by Levy on March 14, would leave only $100,000 for Flint residents.
Leopold said the requested expenses relate not just to the LAN litigation but "include amounts incurred in litigating the entire case and administering the settlements." He said fees and expenses requested for the proposed Veolia settlement would be lower as a result.
The motion filed in connection with the LAN case expenses recommends paying them from the interest earned on the settlement fund. Top attorneys have also asked for a similar share of the interest as what was approved off the top of the settlement fund itself — a "common benefit fee" of 6.33% that would amount to about $2.8 million of $45 million in earned interest.
Michigan AG: Delays 'understandably a frustration'
That's controversial. After lawyers first asked for a cut of the earned interest, back in June, the Michigan Attorney General's Office protested, saying earned interest can be used to pay the cost of claims administration. Any interest left over should benefit Flint residents, not attorneys already awarded handsome fees, Assistant Attorney General Margaret Bettenhausen said in a court filing.
The Michigan Attorney General's Office has since gone quiet on the issue, after lawyers reminded the court that when the AG's Office signed off on the settlement agreement, it promised to take no position on attorney fees and expenses unless asked to do so by the judge.
Levy has not asked, so no party in the case has commented on the fees and expenses requested in connection with the LAN settlement. Details on the claimed expenses are available for closed-door scrutiny by the special master and judge but are not placed on the public record.
Levy has referred the dispute over earned interest to Greenspan. The lawyers say case law is on their side. In the meantime, when Levy in September approved a payment to attorneys of $1.2 million in common benefit fees related to a fund set aside for programming, she allowed lawyers a proportional cut of the interest earned.
Wimmer, the spokesman for the Michigan Attorney General, said Nessel's office is not involved in the claims administration process and the delay in payments is "understandably a frustration to the victims."
