Lead lawyers appointed in Camp Lejeune litigation - The judges in charge of the case about the water contamination on Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune have appointed attorneys from Lieff Cabraser Postman, the Keller Postman, Bell Legal Group and four other law firms to form a seven-member leadership group on behalf of the plaintiffs.
The judges in charge of the case about the Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune water contamination have appointed attorneys from Lieff Cabraser Postman, the Keller Postman, Bell Legal Group and four other law firms to form a seven-member leadership group on behalf of the plaintiffs.
The Eastern District of North Carolina Judges, in a decision released on Wednesday, selected J. Edward Bell III of the Bell Legal Group as lead counsel. The judges also named lawyers Zina Bash from Keller Postman, Elizabeth Cabraser of Lieff Cabraser Heimann & Bernstein, Mike Dowling of The Dowling Firm, Robin Greenwald of Weitz & Luxenberg, James Roberts III of Lewis & Roberts and Mona Lisa Wallace of Wallace & Graham as co-lead counsel.
They are charged with coordinating settlement talks, negotiating discovery, choosing instances for bellwether trials, and sharing information with the public regarding the cases they are currently juggling. They’re about 1,100 cases, according to the Clerk of Court Peter Moore Jr.
The co-leads and their companies are also responsible for the majority of work they do for the general benefit of all plaintiffs, as the order documents. Attorneys for plaintiffs typically get reimbursement or payment for expenses when the case is settled with settlement or judgment.
The judges chose Bash to also act as a government liaison while it reviews over 70,000 claims administratively filed on behalf of the U.S. Navy.
Bash stated that she has been meeting with officials from the government for a full year to come up with an agreement. She believes her work will “significantly accelerate our progress.”
Dowling told Reuters that he felt “humbled and honoured” to be selected for the leadership team. Cabraser, Greenwald, Roberts and Wallace did not respond to inquiries for comment.
The water dispute follows that President Joe Biden, He signed the Honoring Our Promise to Address Comprehensive Toxics (PACT) Act in August last year. It established a procedure for claims related to Camp Lejeune. It is understood that the Department of Health and Human Services acknowledges that the chemicals found in water affected from 1953 until 1987 can cause diseases such as cancer and could have affected up to 1 million people.
The PACT Act established an administrative claims process that allows people seeking reimbursement from the Navy. If the claims aren’t solved, cases can be brought with the Eastern District of North Carolina. The court continues to hear cases filed almost daily, court records reveal.
Bell and his team, which participated in writing the law, estimate that his company is involved in drafting more than 30000 administrative claims and approximately 85% of a federal lawsuit, including camp lejeune. Bell said to Reuter that the lawsuit is a “unique experiment” because it is a result of the fact that the government has admitted that the water had been contaminated.
He stated that he is expected to meet with U.S. Department of Justice officials within the next few weeks. After that, executive team members are expected to start making an order to handle the case in the future.
The Department of Justice declined to make a statement.
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