HR 4145119th CongressIn Committee

Ensuring Justice for Camp Lejeune Victims Act of 2025

Introduced: Jun 25, 2025

Environment & ClimateHealthcareVeterans Affairs

Standard Summary

Comprehensive overview in 1-2 paragraphs

This bill, the Ensuring Justice for Camp Lejeune Victims Act of 2025, is a technical corrections measure to the Camp Lejeune Justice Act of 2022. It makes a series of targeted changes to how claims under the Camp Lejeune act are filed, litigated, and paid for. Key changes include clarifying the burdens of proof for causation, adjusting venue and jurisdiction to allow filings outside a single district while still giving the Eastern District of North Carolina a central role, providing options for transfer and jury trials, expediting the handling of these cases, and setting caps on attorney fees. The bill also clarifies that these corrections apply retroactively to claims dating back to 2022 and does not alter existing statute-of-limitations provisions. In short, the bill seeks to fix and clarify procedural and logistical aspects of Camp Lejeune claims to speed resolution, specify how causation must be shown, and set clear fee rules for lawyers representing victims.

Key Points

1Technical corrections to Section 804 of the Camp Lejeune Justice Act of 2022, including venue and jurisdiction adjustments.
2Causation standard clarified: a claimant must show a relationship between exposure to contaminants in Camp Lejeune water and the type of harm, and that the person was present at Camp Lejeune for at least 30 days (not necessarily consecutive). The evidentiary standard allows a relationship that is either sufficient to conclude a causal link or at least as likely as not.
3Jurisdiction and venue updates: the Eastern District of North Carolina is designated for exclusive jurisdiction over certain pretrial matters, but a claimant may transfer the case to other districts in North and South Carolina for pretrial and trial, including evidentiary motions; jury trials are available upon request; the court must expedite disposition of these actions.
4Attorney fees: caps on total attorney fees are established—20% of any settlement entered before a civil action under subsection (b) is commenced, or 25% of any judgment or settlement after a civil action under subsection (b) is commenced. Fee divisions between attorneys must be proportional to services rendered; parties may agree to a fee lower than these maximums.
5Effective date and retroactivity: the act takes effect as if enacted on August 10, 2022, and applies to claims under section 804 that are pending on or filed after enactment.
6Rule of construction: the bill does not modify the statute of limitations provisions under section 804(j) of the Camp Lejeune Justice Act of 2022.

Impact Areas

Primary group/area affected: Individuals who were present at Camp Lejeune for 30 days or more and suffered harm allegedly linked to water contamination, including residents and potentially workers or others connected to the base, who pursue claims under the Camp Lejeune Justice Act of 2022.Secondary group/area affected: Attorneys representing Camp Lejeune victims (plaintiffs’ bar), defense for the United States, and federal courts handling these cases. The changes also affect how cases can be filed across districts (not strictly limited to one district) and how pretrial or trial proceedings are managed.Additional impacts: The bill aims to make proceedings more efficient by expediting cases, clarifying proof standards to avoid protracted disputes over causation, and providing a clear framework for attorney fees, including proportional division of fees and potential flexibility to accept lower fees. The retroactive provision could affect claims that arose or were filed since 2022, and the statute-of-limitations framework remains unchanged.

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