[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 5257 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
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118th CONGRESS
2d Session
S. 5257
To amend the Camp Lejeune Justice Act of 2022 to make technical
corrections.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
September 25, 2024
Mr. Tillis (for himself, Mr. Blumenthal, Mr. Budd, Ms. Klobuchar, Mr.
Rubio, Mr. Whitehouse, Mr. Braun, Mr. Coons, Mrs. Shaheen, Ms.
Duckworth, Mr. Peters, and Ms. Hirono) introduced the following bill;
which was read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend the Camp Lejeune Justice Act of 2022 to make technical
corrections.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Ensuring Justice for Camp Lejeune
Victims Act of 2024''.
SEC. 2. TECHNICAL CORRECTIONS TO THE CAMP LEJEUNE JUSTICE ACT OF 2022.
Section 804 of the Camp Lejeune Justice Act of 2022 (28 U.S.C. 2671
note prec.) is amended--
(1) in subsection (b)--
(A) by striking ``in the United States District
Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina''; and
(B) by inserting ``, including a latent or
potential harm,'' after ``appropriate relief for
harm'';
(2) by amending subsection (c) to read as follows:
``(c) Burdens and Standard of Proof.--
``(1) In general.--The party filing an action under this
section shall be entitled to appropriate relief upon showing--
``(A) the existence of one or more relationships
between the type of contaminant in any water at Camp
Lejeune and the type of harm suffered by the
individual, including latent or potential harm; and
``(B) that the individual was present at Camp
Lejeune for a period of not less than 30 days, whether
or not consecutive.
``(2) Evidentiary standards.--To meet the burden of proof
described in paragraph (1), a party shall produce evidence
showing that the relationship between exposure to any level of
contaminants of a type in any water at Camp Lejeune and the
type of harm is--
``(A) sufficient to conclude that a causal
relationship exists; or
``(B) sufficient to conclude that a causal
relationship is at least as likely as not.'';
(3) by amending subsection (d) to read as follows:
``(d) Exclusive Jurisdiction and Venue.--The United States District
Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina shall have exclusive
jurisdiction and venue for coordinated or consolidated pretrial
administrative and procedural matters and resolution over any action
filed under subsection (b), and a party filing the action may transfer
such action to any district court of the United States situated within
the fourth judicial circuit for trial of such action, including all
matters related to causation and admission of evidence. Any action
against the United States under subsection (b) shall, at the request of
either party to such action, be tried by the court with a jury. The
court shall advance an action filed under subsection (b) on the docket,
and expedite the disposition of such action to the greatest extent
possible.'';
(4) in subsection (e)--
(A) in paragraph (1), by striking ``latent
disease'' and inserting ``latent or potential harm'';
and
(B) in paragraph (2), in the matter preceding
subparagraph (A), by striking ``shall be offset'' and
inserting ``may be offset''; and
(5) by adding at the end the following:
``(k) Attorney Fees.--
``(1) In general.--The total amount of attorneys fees under
this section shall be in an amount that is not more than--
``(A) 20 percent of any settlement entered into
before a civil action under subsection (b) is
commenced; or
``(B) 25 percent of any judgement rendered or
settlement entered into after a civil action under
subsection (b) is commenced.
``(2) Division of fees.--A division of a fee under
paragraph (1) between attorneys who are not in the same firm
may be made only if the division is in proportion to the
services performed by each attorney.
``(3) Rule of construction.--Nothing in this subsection
shall prohibit an individual or the legal representative of an
individual and such individual's or representative's attorney
from agreeing to a fee award that is less than the maximum
percentage specified in paragraph (1).''.
SEC. 3. EFFECTIVE DATE.
This Act and the amendments made by this Act shall take effect as
if enacted on August 10, 2022, and shall apply to any claim under
section 804 of the Camp Lejeune Justice Act of 2022 that is pending on
the date of enactment of this Act.
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