II 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 378 

To amend the Camp Lejeune Justice Act of 2022 to appropriately limit 

attorney’s fees. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

FEBRUARY 9, 2023 

Mr. SULLIVAN (for himself, Mr. MCCONNELL, Mr. GRASSLEY, Mr. BARRASSO, 

Mr. CRAMER, Mr. DAINES, Ms. LUMMIS, Mr. RUBIO, Mr. TUBERVILLE, 

and Mr. COTTON) 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 

appropriately limit attorney’s fees. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Protect Camp Lejeune 

5 Victims Ensnared by Trial-lawyer’s Scams Act’’ or the 

6 ‘‘Protect Camp Lejeune VETS Act’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. ATTORNEYS FEES IN FEDERAL CAUSE OF ACTION 

2 RELATING TO WATER AT CAMP LEJEUNE, 

3 NORTH CAROLINA. 

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Camp Lejeune Justice Act 

5 of 2022 (28 U.S.C. 2671 note prec.) is amended— 

6 (1) by redesignating subsections (h), (i), and (j) 

7 as subsections (j), (k), and (l), respectively; and 

8 (2) by inserting after subsection (g) the fol9 lowing: 

10 ‘‘(h) ATTORNEYS FEES.— 

11 ‘‘(1) LIMITATIONS.— 

12 ‘‘(A) GENERAL RULE.—Notwithstanding 

13 any contract, an attorney filing an action under 

14 subsection (b) or an administrative action relat15 ing to such an action (as described in section 

16 2675 of title 28, United States Code) (in this 

17 section referred to as an ‘administrative claim’) 

18 may not receive, for services rendered in con19 nection with the action, more than— 

20 ‘‘(i) 12 percent of the payment made 

21 in the action for an administrative claim 

22 (including a resubmission of an adminis23 trative claim after the denial of an initial 

24 administrative claim); or 

25 ‘‘(ii) 17 percent of the payment made 

26 in the action for a judgment rendered or 


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1 settlement entered in an action filed under 

2 subsection (b). 

3 ‘‘(B) AMOUNT OF PAYMENT DETERMINED

4 AFTER OFFSET.—For purposes of this sub5 section, the amount of the payment made in an 

6 action shall be the amount of the payment after 

7 any offsetting reduction under subsection (e)(2) 

8 is made. 

9 ‘‘(C) PROHIBITION ON ANCILLARY FEES

10 AND COSTS.—Attorneys fees paid in accordance 

11 with this subsection may not include any ancil12 lary fees or costs. 

13 ‘‘(2) PENALTY.—Any attorney who violates 

14 paragraph (1) shall be fined not more than $5,000. 

15 ‘‘(3) CERTIFICATION OF FEES.—An attorney 

16 that receives payment for services rendered in con17 nection with an action filed under subsection (b) or 

18 an administrative claim shall submit to the court in 

19 which the action under subsection (b) is pending or 

20 to the Secretary of the Navy, respectively, a state21 ment certifying— 

22 ‘‘(A) the total amount of the payment in 

23 the action; 

24 ‘‘(B) the amount of the payment to the at25 torney with respect to the action; and 


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1 ‘‘(C) whether the percentage of the pay2 ment made to the attorney is in accordance 

3 with paragraph (1). 

4 ‘‘(4) DISCLOSURE.— 

5 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Any judgment ren6 dered, settlement entered, or other award made 

7 with respect to an action filed under subsection 

8 (b) or an administrative claim shall require dis9 closure to the Attorney General or to the court 

10 of the attorneys fees charged to an individual, 

11 or the legal representative of an individual. 

12 ‘‘(B) REPORTING.—The Attorney General 

13 shall collect the disclosures under subparagraph 

14 (A) of attorneys fees charged and submit to 

15 Congress an annual report detailing— 

16 ‘‘(i) the total amount paid under such 

17 judgments, settlements, and awards; 

18 ‘‘(ii) the total amount of attorney fees 

19 paid in connection with such judgments, 

20 settlements, and awards; and 

21 ‘‘(iii) for each such judgment, settle22 ment, or award— 

23 ‘‘(I) the name of the attorney for 

24 the individual or legal representative 

25 of the individual; 


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1 ‘‘(II) if applicable, the law firm 

2 of the attorney; and 

3 ‘‘(III) the amount of fees paid to 

4 the attorney. 

5 ‘‘(5) APPLICABILITY.—This subsection shall 

6 apply with respect to any action filed under sub7 section (b) and any administrative action that is 

8 pending on, or that is filed on or after, the date of 

9 enactment of the Protect Camp Lejeune VETS Act, 

10 including pending matters in which a judgment was 

11 rendered, a settlement was entered, or another 

12 award was made before such date of enactment. 

13 ‘‘(6) SEVERABILITY.—If any provision of this 

14 subsection or the application of such provision to 

15 any person or circumstance is held to be invalid or 

16 unconstitutional, the remainder of this subsection 

17 and the application of such provisions to any person 

18 or circumstance shall not be affected thereby.’’. 

19 (b) GUIDANCE.—Not later than 30 days after the 

20 date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of the Navy 

21 shall issue guidance for claimants under the Camp 

22 Lejeune Justice Act of 2022 (28 U.S.C. 2671 note prec.) 

23 regarding the documentation necessary to establish a 

24 claim under such Act. 


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1 (c) COMPENSATION SCHEDULE.—Not later than 180 

2 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary 

3 of the Navy shall issue a compensation schedule specifying 

4 the amount of payments for claimants under the Camp 

5 Lejeune Justice Act of 2022 (28 U.S.C. 2671 note prec.), 

6 based on the injuries suffered by the claimant. 

Æ 


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