A judge overseeing the lawsuits filed by people sickened by drinking water at Camp Lejeune that was contaminated by industrial solvents and other chemicals from the 1950s through the 80s has issued an order intended to build a settlement framework by the end of the year.
U.S. Magistrate James Gates is one of the judges presiding over the Camp Lejeune water litigation, and he said in the order that pursuit of the year-end goal is warranted by the unique circumstances of the claims - including the long period which has passed since the water contamination occurred and the extended time needed for litigating the large number of claims.
The CDC found more than a million people may have been exposed to the chemical-laden drinking water; more than 400,000 damage claims have been filed with the Navy and just under 4,000 lawsuits are pending since a two-year window for litigation opened in 2022. That window closed last fall.
Of the overall claimants, 2,500 selected for inclusion in the questionnaire process and Gates’ order requires that it be completed and submitted with the supporting records by November 24.
The order states that the purpose of the questionnaire process is to provide the Plaintiffs' Leadership Group – essentially the attorneys acting as lead counsel for those sickened by the water – the U.S. Department of Justice, and the settlement masters, who are mediating between both sides, enough information about the scope of the claims to create a broad settlement framework.
In his ruling, Gates said refusal to participate or use reasonable diligence in completing the questionnaire could harm the settlement process and result in “adverse treatment or decision, at the Navy's discretion, in the administrative process.”
Each firm that represents five or more claimants among those selected for the questionnaire will be required to provide the court with a status report at regular intervals until the deadline.
Gates also said in the order that requests for extension of any of the deadlines “are strongly disfavored” and will only be allowed under truly exceptional circumstances; if an extension is allowed, the order states that it will be strictly limited to as short a period as necessary.
The water at Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune was contaminated for decades, and the federal government and the U.S. military kept it under wraps for years. Marines, their families, base contractors and others were served drinking water from the toxic wells for several years after water testing confirmed it was laden with harmful chemicals.
Read a copy of the judge's order HERE.
Related content: Camp Lejeune Justice Act series
Background:
In 1982, Camp Lejeune’s water supplies were formally tested and found to be contaminated, but the worst of Camp Lejeune’s drinking water wells remained open until 1985. Camp Lejeune residents were first notified about water contamination in June 1984 via a base newsletter, which downplayed the extent of exposure. More specific notifications about contaminated wells being shut down followed later in 1984 and 1985, but many people didn't learn the full truth until news reports in the late 1990s. The U.S. Marine Corps officially began notifying past residents in 1999 as part of a federal health study.
The contaminants at Camp Lejeune came from leaking underground storage tanks, waste disposal sites, industrial area spills and an off-base dry-cleaning firm – and testing found that three of the base’s eight water treatment facilities contained contaminants – including those that supplied water to barracks and family housing at several locations.
A study published in Environmental Health in 2014 reported samples taken at Camp Lejeune between 1980-1985 primarily contained tetrachloroethylene, trichloroethylene and their breakdown products, trans-1,2-dichloroethyline and vinyl chloride. Benzene was also found in the water.
According to the CDC, studies in animals have shown that long-term exposure to tetrachloroethylene can cause cancers of the liver, kidney, and blood systems, and changes in brain chemistry.
More than one million people may have been exposed at the base near Jacksonville.
Enacted 40 years after the government testing showed drinking water contamination aboard the base, the Camp Lejeune Justice Act of 2022 allows people who lived, worked, or were exposed to the toxic water for at least 30 days between 1953 and 1987 to sue the U.S. government for harm caused by that exposure.
Part of the Honoring Our PACT Act, the law removed previous barriers to lawsuits and established a lower standard of proof, requiring plaintiffs to show the contaminated water was at least "as likely as not" the cause of their illness.
Victims had two years from the date President Joe Biden signed the act to sue the federal government for compensation for illnesses caused by the water contamination – a window that closed last fall.
Currently, there are more than 400,000 pending claims with the Department of the Navy, but despite that overwhelming number, not a single case has gone to trial and there have been just a few settlements.
