Federal

Protect Camp Lejeune VETS Act

Source: Congress.gov · 1,099 words in original text

What This Bill Does

This bill changes how much lawyers can charge clients in cases related to contaminated water at Camp Lejeune, a military base in North Carolina. It limits attorney fees and requires the Navy to create a payment schedule and guidance for people filing claims.

Who It Affects

Lawyers representing people harmed by contaminated water at Camp Lejeune, individuals filing claims for water contamination injuries, the Secretary of the Navy, and the Attorney General.

Key Provisions

• Attorneys can charge no more than 12 percent of payments received through administrative claims (claims submitted to the government before going to court) and no more than 17 percent of payments from court judgments or settlements (Sec. 2(a)(2)(1)(A)). • Attorneys must submit a signed statement to the court or Navy certifying the total payment amount, how much they received, and whether their fees follow the limits in this bill (Sec. 2(a)(2)(3)). • All judgments, settlements and awards must disclose to the Attorney General or court how much attorneys charged (Sec. 2(a)(2)(4)(A)). • The Attorney General must collect information about attorney fees and submit an annual report to Congress showing total payments, total attorney fees, and details about each attorney paid (Sec. 2(a)(2)(4)(B)). • Attorneys who break the fee limits can be fined up to $5,000 (Sec. 2(a)(2)(2)). • The Navy must issue guidance about what documents people need to file a claim within 30 days of this law passing (Sec. 2(b)). • The Navy must create a payment schedule showing how much people get based on their injuries within 180 days of this law passing (Sec. 2(c)).

What Changes

If this bill becomes law, lawyers cannot charge more than 12 percent or 17 percent depending on claim type, whereas previous rules did not specify these limits. Lawyers must now certify their fees in writing. The government will publicly report attorney fees and payments. The Navy will establish clear guidance documents and a payment schedule that did not previously exist.

Important Definitions

• Administrative claim: A request for payment submitted to the government before filing a lawsuit (Sec. 2(a)(2)(1)(A)).

Effective Date

The fee limits and reporting requirements apply to any case filed on or after the date this law passes, including cases that were already pending when the law takes effect (Sec. 2(a)(2)(5)).

I 118TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 925 To amend the Camp Lejeune Justice Act of 2022 to appropriately limit attorney’s fees. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES FEBRUARY 9, 2023 Mr. ISSA (for himself and Mr. BOST) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary A BILL To amend the Camp Lejeune Justice Act of 2022 to appropriately limit attorney’s fees. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Protect Camp Lejeune 4 Victims Ensnared by Trial-lawyer’s Scams Act’’ or the 5 ‘‘Protect Camp Lejeune VETS Act’’. 6 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:26 Mar 07, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H925.IH H925 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 2 •HR 925 IH SEC. 2. ATTORNEYS FEES IN FEDERAL CAUSE OF ACTION 1 RELATING TO WATER AT CAMP LEJEUNE, 2 NORTH CAROLINA. 3 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Camp Lejeune Justice Act 4 of 2022 (28 U.S.C. 2671 note prec.) is amended— 5 (1) by redesignating subsections (h), (i), and (j) 6 as subsections (j), (k), and (l), respectively; and 7 (2) by inserting after subsection (g) the fol- 8 lowing: 9 ‘‘(h) ATTORNEYS FEES.— 10 ‘‘(1) LIMITATIONS.— 11 ‘‘(A) GENERAL RULE.—Notwithstanding 12 any contract, an attorney filing an action under 13 subsection (b) or an administrative action relat- 14 ing to such an action (as described in section 15 2675 of title 28, United States Code) (in this 16 section referred to as an ‘administrative claim’) 17 may not receive, for services rendered in con- 18 nection with the action, more than— 19 ‘‘(i) 12 percent of the payment made 20 in the action for an administrative claim 21 (including a resubmission of an adminis- 22 trative claim after the denial of an initial 23 administrative claim); or 24 ‘‘(ii) 17 percent of the payment made 25 in the action for a judgment rendered or 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:26 Mar 07, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H925.IH H925 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 3 •HR 925 IH settlement entered in an action filed under 1 subsection (b). 2 ‘‘(B) AMOUNT OF PAYMENT DETERMINED 3 AFTER OFFSET.—For purposes of this sub- 4 section, the amount of the payment made in an 5 action shall be the amount of the payment after 6 any offsetting reduction under subsection (e)(2) 7 is made. 8 ‘‘(C) PROHIBITION ON ANCILLARY FEES 9 AND COSTS.—Attorneys fees paid in accordance 10 with this subsection may not include any ancil- 11 lary fees or costs. 12 ‘‘(2) PENALTY.—Any attorney who violates 13 paragraph (1) shall be fined not more than $5,000. 14 ‘‘(3) CERTIFICATION OF FEES.—An attorney 15 that receives payment for services rendered in con- 16 nection with an action filed under subsection (b) or 17 an administrative claim shall submit to the court in 18 which the action under subsection (b) is pending or 19 to the Secretary of the Navy, respectively, a state- 20 ment certifying— 21 ‘‘(A) the total amount of the payment in 22 the action; 23 ‘‘(B) the amount of the payment to the at- 24 torney with respect to the action; and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:26 Mar 07, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H925.IH H925 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 4 •HR 925 IH ‘‘(C) whether the percentage of the pay- 1 ment made to the attorney is in accordance 2 with paragraph (1). 3 ‘‘(4) DISCLOSURE.— 4 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Any judgment ren- 5 dered, settlement entered, or other award made 6 with respect to an action filed under subsection 7 (b) or an administrative claim shall require dis- 8 closure to the Attorney General or to the court 9 of the attorneys fees charged to an individual, 10 or the legal representative of an individual. 11 ‘‘(B) REPORTING.—The Attorney General 12 shall collect the disclosures under subparagraph 13 (A) of attorneys fees charged and submit to 14 Congress an annual report detailing— 15 ‘‘(i) the total amount paid under such 16 judgments, settlements, and awards; 17 ‘‘(ii) the total amount of attorney fees 18 paid in connection with such judgments, 19 settlements, and awards; and 20 ‘‘(iii) for each such judgment, settle- 21 ment, or award— 22 ‘‘(I) the name of the attorney for 23 the individual or legal representative 24 of the individual; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:26 Mar 07, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H925.IH H925 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 5 •HR 925 IH ‘‘(II) if applicable, the law firm 1 of the attorney; and 2 ‘‘(III) the amount of fees paid to 3 the attorney. 4 ‘‘(5) APPLICABILITY.—This subsection shall 5 apply with respect to any action filed under sub- 6 section (b) and any administrative action that is 7 pending on, or that is filed on or after, the date of 8 enactment of the Protect Camp Lejeune VETS Act, 9 including pending matters in which a judgment was 10 rendered, a settlement was entered, or another 11 award was made before such date of enactment. 12 ‘‘(6) SEVERABILITY.—If any provision of this 13 subsection or the application of such provision to 14 any person or circumstance is held to be invalid or 15 unconstitutional, the remainder of this subsection 16 and the application of such provisions to any person 17 or circumstance shall not be affected thereby.’’. 18 (b) GUIDANCE.—Not later than 30 days after the 19 date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of the Navy 20 shall issue guidance for claimants under the Camp 21 Lejeune Justice Act of 2022 (28 U.S.C. 2671 note prec.) 22 regarding the documentation necessary to establish a 23 claim under such Act. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:26 Mar 07, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H925.IH H925 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 6 •HR 925 IH (c) COMPENSATION SCHEDULE.—Not later than 180 1 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary 2 of the Navy shall issue a compensation schedule specifying 3 the amount of payments for claimants under the Camp 4 Lejeune Justice Act of 2022 (28 U.S.C. 2671 note prec.), 5 based on the injuries suffered by the claimant. 6 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:26 Mar 07, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H925.IH H925 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB

Important: This plain English summary was generated by AI and is provided for informational purposes only. It is not legal advice. Always consult the official bill text on Congress.gov or a qualified attorney for legal matters.