In a previous blog post, I mentioned how the Camp Lejeune litigation was starting to pick up. Specifically, the court scheduled a status conference to discuss pre-trial matters like protecting evidence and identifying witnesses. Even though we’re still in the early stages of litigation, a few things have happened since then that I’d like to discuss.

An Overview of the Camp Lejeune Lawsuits

The water at the U.S. Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune (Camp Lejeune) is safe to drink and use. But it wasn’t always this way, especially during the decades before 1987. During that time, the water at Camp Lejeune contained various chemicals which could result in serious health problems.

Unfortunately, many of those harmed by the contaminated water had limited access to compensation for their injuries. This changed in August 2022 when President Biden signed the Camp Lejeune Justice Act of 2022 (CLJA).

This law removed government immunity that prevented victims of Camp Lejeune water contamination from suing the government. As a result, hundreds, if not thousands of lawsuits have been filed so far and it’s expected many thousands more will be filed over the next few years until the statute of limitation deadline passes.

With so many lawsuits filed in the same court (the CLJA requires all lawsuits to be filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina), the court has understandably needed to make arrangements to best organize and process the incoming cases. This is where we see one of the most notable updates to the Camp Lejeune litigation.

Recent Updates to Camp Lejeune Litigation

The most important update came on April 24, 2023, when the court created a Master Docket. This is a single docket for all Camp Lejeune water contamination cases, even if plaintiffs have their own cases that would otherwise get their own docket. The goal of the Master Docket is to streamline the early parts of litigation, such as filing pleadings and handling discovery.

In a way, a Master Docket is a bit like an MDL, or multidistrict litigation. This is because the Master Docket makes it possible for the court to develop a master complaint and answer that most parties can use during the pleadings stage of litigation.

Once that’s complete, there’s a consolidated discovery process with each step outlined by the court. The court will also figure out when and how bellwether trials will take place and help coordinate settlement discussions among the parties.

The point of this consolidation is to speed up litigation, make it easier for the parties to reach a settlement and make it cheaper for each side to present their cases. But why isn’t the Camp Lejeune litigation an MDL? Well, it’s because all the cases are already being filed to the same court – the Eastern District of North Carolina. In contrast, an MDL is typically set up because many cases have been filed in various federal districts all over the country.

The court has also ordered the creation of a leadership structure for the plaintiffs. One reason for this is so they can better coordinate their lawsuits with each other. Finally, the court has outlined the steps attorneys need to follow if they want to represent clients in one or more Camp Lejeune water contamination lawsuits in the Eastern District of North Carolina.

It should also be noted that the court has granted a time extension to the U.S. government (the primary defendant in the Camp Lejeune water contamination cases) to file its answer to the plaintiffs’ complaints. This extension applies to many, if not most, pending cases.

This extension isn’t surprising given the relatively fluid nature of the overall litigation and how there’s some uncertainty in how the court will handle its massive caseload. But another source of uncertainty lies with the administrative claims.

Camp Lejeune Contaminated Water Administrative Claims

The CLJA requires plaintiffs to file an administrative claim with the U.S. Navy Judge Advocate General (JAG) before suing in court. The hope is that the JAG can process these claims and provide sufficient compensation to individuals so that they don’t need to go to court.

The problem is that few, if any, administrative claims have been processed. Not only that, but JAG still hasn’t set up its e-filing service to make it easier for the filing and processing of claims. Eventually, many of the administrative claims will be fully processed. When this happens, it’ll be curious to see the compensation offers that are made and what effect they will have on the Camp Lejeune litigation.

Proposed Law to Limit Attorney’s Fees in Camp Lejeune Cases

When the CLJA became law, it resulted in a massive amount of legal advertising. While much of this didn’t directly come from attorneys, it still left a bad taste for some people. For example, there was the perception that plaintiffs’ attorneys were trying to profit from the harm suffered by service members and their families.

In response, several members of Congress have tried to limit the amount of compensation plaintiffs’ attorneys in Camp Lejeune litigation can receive. The Protect Access to Justice for Veterans Act of 2023 introduced by Senator Durbin would limit an attorney’s fees to 20% of the money recovered within 180 days after filing an administrative claim and 33.3% of the money recovered from a civil suit. Another feature of this law is that only after clients have received their money from an administrative claim or lawsuit will their get attorneys paid.

In a more extreme approach, the Protect Camp Lejeune VETS Act introduced by Senator Sullivan would limit attorney’s fees to 2% of the money recovered for administrative claims where the client hired an attorney on or after August 10, 2022. This cap rises to 10% of the money recovered from civil suits or administrative claims where the client hired an attorney before August 10, 2022.

Like the Protect Access to Justice for Veterans Act of 2023, attorneys only get paid after their clients have received their money. Finally, the Protect Camp Lejeune VETS Act has a disclosure provision. This requires the reporting of attorney’s fees in Camp Lejeune cases to the court, the Attorney General and Congress.

What’s Up Next for Camp Lejeune Lawsuits

The court will help create a master complaint and answer, along with specifics on how to streamline discovery. The parties will complete the pleadings stage of the litigation and begin the discovery process. And hopefully, JAG will finish processing some administrative claims.

If you’d like to learn more about the Camp Lejeune lawsuits, stay tuned to this blog for more updates as they arise. In the meantime, if you have questions about a possible administrative claim or lawsuit due to water contamination from Camp Lejeune, you can call my direct line at (919) 830-5602.

Litigation relating to personal injuries from the Camp Lejeune water contamination is beginning to ramp up. In fact, a status conference hearing has been scheduled for April 5, 2023 in one of the cases. But before we discuss what will happen during that conference, let’s take a quick look at how we got here.

Before the Camp Lejeune Lawsuits

If you’ve been keeping up with the Camp Lejeune water contamination news stories, you’ll recall that President Biden signed the Camp Lejeune Justice Act of 2022 (CLJA) into law in August of last year. The law states that eligible individuals may sue the federal government to recover damages due to exposure to contaminated water from Camp Lejeune.

But before someone can file suit, they must first file an administrative claim with the U.S. Navy Judge Advocate General (JAG). If JAG hasn’t completed processing the claim within six months of filing, the individual can choose to continue waiting or file a civil suit in federal court.

Administrative claims have been pouring into JAG, with tens of thousands filed so far. And as of the time of this writing, it’s not believed that any of those claims have been fully processed. This is a bit frustrating, as most people would prefer to receive compensation for their injuries without having to go to court, or at the very least least, to have some response from the administrative claims process.

With no substantial progress being made with the administrative claims and the six-month waiting period having passed for initial administrative claim filers, the lawsuits have started. There are now at least several hundred cases pending in federal court for the Eastern District of North Carolina before the Honorable U.S. District Judge James C. Dever III.

The Camp Lejeune Water Status Conference

A pre-trial status conference is intended to help the court manage the pre-trial aspects of the case. According to the March 20, 2023 order, the court will hold its status conference at 1 pm on April 5, 2023 at the Terry Sanford Federal Building and United States Courthouse here in Raleigh, North Carolina, where I practice law. At the conference, the court and parties to the lawsuit will discuss various pre-trial matters, such as:

• Protecting evidence.
• Identifying expert witnesses.
• Handling depositions.
• Sorting out the procedures for confirming the specific chemicals claimed to have caused injuries, as well as where those chemicals came from and when they were discharged.
• Establishing the process for potential settlement or mediation.
• Addressing the process for initial disclosures.

As you can see, these issues are vitally important, and with the huge volume of cases expected to be filed, the federal court in North Carolina will need an efficient system or the cases will take many years to resolve.

Further, the issue of handling initial disclosures is especially important because it refers to each party in the lawsuit providing a list to the other side that identifies the potential evidence they may use in the case. This means listing the identity of any potential witnesses and describing the documents or other evidence each side has. Each side must provide these “initial disclosures” without the other party having to first send a formal discovery request. One of the goals of the initial disclosure requirement is to save time during discovery (which is often the longest and most expensive part of litigation).

What’s Next?

After this status conference, the judge and parties in the case will have a clearer picture of what they can expect from the other side before trial. This will then make it easier for the judge to schedule the other parts of the litigation, such as completing discovery and when the litigants must file certain motions.

There’s still potentially a long way to obtaining recovery if you’ve been injured from the water at Camp Lejeune. But the good news is that things are moving, even if a bit slow. Things should begin picking up, and maybe we’ll see some settlements once JAG can make some progress in processing all the administrative claims after setting up its website to accept electronic filings.

In the meantime, you might have questions about whether your injuries are the result of Camp Lejeune’s water contamination and/or how to proceed with legal action. If so, feel free to contact me and I’ll see what I can do to assist you. My direct line at the office is (919) 830-5602.