Reuters reports that four judges from the Eastern District of North Carolina have appointed a seven-member leadership team of attorneys to represent plaintiffs in the pending Camp Lejeune litigation cases. The team includes lead attorney J. Edward Bell III (Bell Legal Group) and co-lead counsel Mona Lisa Wallace (Wallace & Graham). Together, the select attorneys will manage settlement talks, create discovery plans, select bellwether trials, and communicate all developments to the public regarding more than 1,100 ongoing Camp Lejeune cases and counting.

Bloomberg reports that a newly-proposed federal class action lawsuit accuses Millberg Coleman Bryson Phillips Grossman LLC of violating the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA). The suit alleges that Millberg made robocalls, or scam calls, “soliciting participation in Camp Lejeune toxic-water lawsuits.” Millberg has been accused of texting and calling numbers on the national Do Not Call registry, calling without self-identification, and using an artificial or pre-recorded voice—all within direct violation of the TCPA.

Reuters reports that the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has urged federal judges to speed up the consolidation process for a growing number of Camp Lejeune water contamination lawsuits. Four judges overseeing the cases in the Eastern District of North Carolina face a looming deadline to individually file replies in over 600 separate lawsuits out of nearly 1,000 total that have been filed. Under the 2022 Promise to Address Comprehensive Toxics (PACT) Act, affected parties can seek compensation directly through the Navy and the Eastern District of North Carolina. Zero settlements have been reached to date. Consolidating the lawsuits would significantly expedite the settlement process.

CNN reports that the risk of Parkinson’s disease is 70% higher for Camp Lejeune marines than those stationed elsewhere. For over thirty years, thousands of veterans, families, and workers were exposed to the station’s toxic water supply. The water was found to contain high trichloroethylene (TCE) levels and other dangerous chemicals. As a result, drinking, cooking with, or bathing in Camp Lejeune’s water between 1953-1987 has been linked to chronic degenerative brain disorders (such as Parkinson’s disease), cancers, and other serious illnesses.

Bloomberg reports that a group of bipartisan lawmakers has issued a demand on the Navy regarding the Camp Lejeune toxic water lawsuits. The open letter asks why the Navy has been slow to resolve “few if any cases” of the Camp Lejeune toxic water lawsuits in the nine months since President Biden passed the Camp Lejeune Justice Act Amendment. Even though over 900 cases have been filed, thousands more are projected to be filed before the June 9, 2023, deadline.

On April 24, four district court judges in North Carolina issued two motions for the Camp Lejeune toxic water lawsuits. The group of judges established a master docket to consolidate the active cases to be overseen by a single judge. The court also opened applications to attorneys interested in serving on the Plaintiff’s Leadership Counsel or Plaintiff’s Steering Committee for this significant mass tort trial.

A newly proposed bill on Capitol Hill entitled “Protect Access to Justice for Veterans Act of 2023” would amend the Camp Lejeune Justice Act (CLJA) to cap attorney fees at 20% for administrative settlements and 33% for Camp Lejeune litigation cases.

If you have been researching about filing a Camp Lejeune toxic water lawsuit, you may already have been spotted by advertisers and placed on a dedicated calling list. And if you have an active Camp Lejeune claim, scammers are likely to try to con you by pretending to be a lawyer seeking payment.

You will know they are a scammer if they ask you to pay a bill or a filing fee because genuine law firms would never do this. Real lawyers get paid only if you, the client, get paid via a settlement. 

If a scammer contacts you asking for money, do not give them any personal information and end the call immediately.  Call our experienced team of lawyers for proper representation. You can reach Mostyn Law at (713) 714-0000 or 800-400-4000.

The Department of the Navy’s legal division (JAG) is processing 15,000 Camp Lejeune claims filed, and expects that number to grow sharply. But until the division makes an online portal, anyone who wants to file a new Camp Lejeune claim must do so by emailing JAG. And even though documentation is not currently required, it will likely become necessary in the coming months.

Of the 15,000 claims filed, the Navy has responded to none of them. The Camp Lejeune Justice Act states that if the Navy does not settle your case within six months of your administrative claim, you can file a lawsuit in federal court. But the final federal deadline to file lawsuits is August 11, 2024 – two years after the Camp Lejeune Act passed.

For now, you do not have to provide proof of your military personnel or federal employment records to file a Camp Lejeune claim, the Judge Advocate General (JAG) announced. However, you may have to submit that evidence down the line once the online portal launches.

Facing thousands of filings and record requests, JAG and the National Personnel Records Center will use the portal to verify military connections at scale. If you have already filed an administrative claim, JAG will decide if you need to submit the proper documents on a case-by-case basis at a future date.

Veterans and their families can proceed with civil claims and federal lawsuits after President Biden signed the Camp Lejeune Justice Act into law. Under the new law, up to one million affected people may sue for a financial settlement.

​Even if the courts previously dismissed it, the CLJA allows you to resubmit your Camp Lejeune legacy case from years ago. However, you must re-file your legacy case before proceeding with a civil claim or federal suit.

Following the US Congress approving its launch in April 1941, the Camp Lejeune military base opened after principal construction was completed in the fall of 1942. After a few more years of additional construction, the camp would become a full-fledged community by 1945, with roads, schools, and more.

Camp Lejeune received its name in honor of Major General John Lejeune, 13th Commandant and Commanding General in the army during WWI, who died the year the camp was completed. Lejeune was an innovative figure for his contributions to amphibious assault in the US military.

A nearby, off-base dry cleaner opened in 1953 called ABC One-Hour Cleaners. The business promptly began dumping waste on the base, choosing to unload across the street from Tarawa Terrace. Additionally, the septic tank on-site at the dry cleaner facility leaked into the soil. By August 1953, the water sources became compromised, and the Camp Lejeune contamination timeline had begun.

The Holcomb Boulevard water system started in 1972 and replaced the Hadnot Point water system. Eventually, the Holcomb facility began mixing its water with the contaminated water from the Hadnot Point water system. As a result, residents of Berkeley Manor, Midway Park, and Paradise Point may have encountered the dangerous water around this time.

Although the Navy did not receive the results until May 1982, scientists started testing the 12 water wells on-site at the base by October 1980. At that point, the Navy discovered maximum levels of TCE as well as the presence of several other hazardous chemicals: PCE, DCE, vinyl chloride, and benzene.

By February 1985, the military had found the most hazardous water wells (10 out of the 12 on the base) and shut them down. The water was 200-3000 times over the amount of toxins that would be considered generally safe—beyond toxic. Scientists also discovered maximum levels of PCE at Tarawa Terrace, and supply plants began to close. It wasn’t until 1987 that the water was deemed safe.

In 2012, President Obama signed the Camp Lejeune Families Act. The law provides free healthcare benefits to veterans through the VA and reimburses health care costs for family members. Coverage includes aplastic anemia, bladder cancer, kidney cancer, leukemia, liver cancer, multiple myeloma, non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, and Parkinson’s disease.

Biden signed the Camp Lejeune Justice Act in August 2022, about two months after the bill passed in the US Senate, with enthusiastic support from both parties. The law allows former residents, veterans, civilians, and their families to file civil claims and federal lawsuits for settlement money.