Jenner & Block, DLA Piper Partners to Settle Camp Lejeune Cases

Jenner & Block chair Thomas Perrelli and DLA Piper partner Christopher Oprison have been appointed special masters to help settle the sprawling litigation stemming from exposure to toxic water at Camp Lejeune in North Carolina.

The pair will establish a “common, unified approach to global settlement” of the cases borne out of the Camp Lejeune Justice Act passed in 2022, a panel of four US District Judges said in an order last week.

The appointments come in a case that the government has estimated could cost around $21 billion to resolve. The US Navy has received more than 160,000 claims for compensation on behalf of Camp Lejeune veterans, workers or others who spent time on the base when its water was contaminated.

Court fights over the process have bogged down the settlement process, with judges expressing frustration over the slow pace of resolutions. A judge will hear cases that go to trial, as the legislation passed in 2022 doesn’t allow juries, according to a February ruling.

Lawyers for the government and plaintiffs in the Camp Lejeune cases had recommended Perrelli for the mediator-like role as early as January. The court identified Oprison as a candidate. The court said it interviewed another unnamed candidate in June before determining Perrelli and Oprison should serve together.

The government and plaintiffs will split the costs of the settlement masters, who will provide billing records of their work, the four judges’ order said. Magistrate Judge James E. Gates will be the “settlement liaison” working with Perrelli and Oprison, according to the order.

Perrelli has previously won monitorship appointments for three companies, including Citibank’s compliance with a $2.5 billion consumer relief program stemming from its sale of residential mortgage securities.

Oprison, a litigation partner, is a former Marine Corps captain who has represented active duty, reservist and retired veterans in pro bono cases, according to his law firm bio.

The appointments will last one year but the court can extend them if necessary, the order said.

The case is Camp Lejeune Water Litig. v. US, E.D.N.C., 7:23-cv- 00897, 7/9/24.