From [HERE] A judge declared a mistrial Thursday after jurors said they couldn't reach a verdict in a dispute over whether two engineering firms should bear some responsibility for Flint's lead-contaminated water.

Veolia North America and Lockwood, Andrews & Newman, known as LAN, were accused of not doing enough to get Flint to treat the highly corrosive water or to urge a return to a regional water supplier.

A mistrial was declared in federal court in Ann Arbor, Michigan, court spokesman David Ashenfelter said.

After hearing months of evidence, the jury began full deliberations on July 25 but also took a planned 11-day break before returning Tuesday.

The trial centered on the engineering firms and the effects of lead on four children, not all Flint residents. But the result was being closely watched because it would likely influence possible settlements or trials in other cases.

Veolia and LAN were not part of a landmark $626 million deal involving thousands of residents of the majority-Black city, the state of Michigan and other parties. [MORE]