Suit To Halt Detroit Manager Appointment Dismissed

LANSING (WWJ/AP) - A lawsuit seeking to block the appointment of Detroit emergency manager Kevyn Orr has been dismissed.

Attorney Andrew Paterson said Monday that the lawsuit became "moot" when a Lansing Circuit Court judge refused last month to hold a hearing before Orr's hiring by the state's Emergency Loan Board.

Paterson represents Citizens United Against Corrupt Government, headed by activist Robert Davis. The group sued on March 8, saying Gov. Rick Snyder was unlawfully recruiting and interviewing candidates for the emergency manager job.

Assistant Attorney General Margaret Nelson said the group waited too long to sue.

Opposition, in the form of protests and legal challenges, has been plentiful since Snyder announced Orr's selection and hiring on March 14.

It's Orr's job to fix Detroit's finances, which include a $327 million budget deficit.

Under Michigan law, emergency managers have the power to develop financial plans, renegotiate labor contracts, revise and approve budgets to help control spending, sell off some city assets and suspend elected officials' salaries.

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