Mayor Bing Orders Crittendon to Drop the Lawsuit Against the State of Michigan

Mayor Dave Bing, in the fourth change of position that he has had on this issue, has ordered Krystal Crittendon, Corporation Counsel for the City of Detroit, to drop her lawsuit against the State of Michigan, which challenged the legality of consent agreement that City and State governments entered into recently. Mayor Bing previously stated as recently as yesterday that, while he opposed the lawsuit, he was powerless to stop it. In a letter to Ms. Crittendon, a copy of which is available here, Mayor Bing today argued that the City Charter does indeed give him the authority to compel her to drop this case.

Judge William Collette, of the Ingham County Circuit Court, is scheduled to hear arguments in this case tomorrow morning at 10 a.m. in Lansing. It's not clear as of this writing whether or not Ms. Crittendon will, in fact, drop her lawsuit before that time.