The Camp Lejeune water contamination litigation is approaching an October 30 deadline for the parties to pursue a possible global settlement. More than 408,000 non-duplicate administrative claims have been filed with the Department of the Navy by people seeking compensation under the Camp Lejeune Justice Act.
The Eastern District of North Carolina has exclusive jurisdiction and venue for lawsuits filed under the Camp Lejeune Justice Act. Four federal judges are overseeing the litigation, which now involves thousands of individual lawsuits. Now, four Track 1 cases are moving closer to trial. The court has scheduled pre-trial status conferences for September 10 at the federal courthouse in Raleigh.
According to the court's scheduling orders, trials in those cases will be scheduled for 30 to 45 days following the pre-trial conferences.
That would put those trials on the court's calendar sometime between October 10 and October 25.
The timing raises an important question: What happens if the parties reach a global settlement just days before — or even after — those first test trials are scheduled?
The court has directed the parties to continue working with settlement masters as they pursue a global resolution by October 30. A settlement would still have to establish how individual cases would be resolved, depending on the terms reached by the parties and approved by the court.
Another unresolved issue is how medical and disability benefits should affect compensation. The government and plaintiffs continue to dispute the calculation of those offsets, which could affect the amount some claimants ultimately receive.
Meanwhile, the Justice Department says federal law limits attorneys' fees in Camp Lejeune cases. The government says attorneys may not collect more than 20 percent of an administrative settlement and 25 percent of a settlement or judgment reached after a lawsuit is filed.
Those limits are calculated after applicable offsets for health and disability benefits. The Justice Department says the federal fee restrictions carry associated fines and penalties.
As of August 10, the Justice Department said settlement offers under the Camp Lejeune Justice Act had exceeded $1 billion, with more than $827 million paid out.
With four Track 1 trials moving toward the scheduling stage and an October 30 settlement deadline approaching, the Camp Lejeune litigation is entering a significant period.
