Camp Lejeune plaintiffs continue to be harassed by law firms, marketers, and lead generation companies. The message has been sent loud and clear, grab as many Marines as possible and any way possible.
On August 29, Reuters reported that several prominent plaintiffs' law firms invol
ved in lawsuits against the U.S. government concerning contaminated drinking water at Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune are now facing a barrage of lawsuits themselves. These suits allege that these firms employed illegal telemarketing tactics while attempting to recruit clients.
Over the past year, at least 20 law firms, including Watts Guerra, Keller Postman, and Milberg Coleman Bryson Phillips Grossman, have been targeted in legal actions. These actions claim violations of the U.S. Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA), a federal law designed to regulate telemarketing practices. The TCPA lawsuits, totaling more than 20 and encompas
sing five proposed class actions across different federal courts, contend that these law firms and their affiliated marketers utilized tactics prohibited by the law. These prohibited tactics included the use of automated dialers and robocalls to contact individuals who had not given consent to be contacted.
Under the TCPA, violations can result in damages of up to $1,500 per unsolicited call or text. For instance, a lawsuit against Milberg alleges over 30 TCPA violations and seeks damages exceeding $55,000. Meanwhile, Keller Postman, a leading firm in the Camp Lejeune litigation representing around 300 plaintiffs, settled three TCPA lawsuits this year for undisclosed amounts, according to court records.
In a separate case, Levin Papantonio Rafferty failed to have a TCPA lawsuit related to Camp Lejeune dismissed. A West Virginia federal judge ruled that the plaintiff's allegations "plausibly connect Levin Law to the alleged calls." The plaintiff, Diana Mey of Wheeling, West Virginia, claimed to have received at least 15 calls from Levin's marketers regarding Camp Lejeune. Mey has been involved in at least five other TCPA lawsuits unrelated to the Camp Lejeune litigation in the past three years. Ryan Donovan, her lawyer in the Camp Lejeune case, remarked that "wherever there is money to be made through telemarketing, there seems to always be someone willing to break the law."
The Camp Lejeune litigation has become one of the largest mass tort actions in U.S. history, with over 1,100 individual federal lawsuits and 93,000 administrative claims filed on behalf of victims. The U.S. government has estimated potential payouts to veterans and their families at over $20 billion. Plaintiffs' lawyers are particularly drawn to Camp Lejeune cases, as the government has acknowledged the presence of dangerous chemicals in the water between 1953 and 1987, capable of causing cancer, miscarriages, and other health issues. Lawyers need only demonstrate that their clients were on the base for at least 30 days during the unsafe water period and have conditions attributable to the chemicals to qualify for a share of the settlement.
This drive to find clients with Camp Lejeune connections has led to a surge in marketing, with over $230 million spent in the last year on Camp Lejeune-related advertising, according to mass tort research firm X Ante. Nearly 200 different businesses have run ads soliciting Camp Lejeune claims.
The reality is a Camp Lejeune qualified plaintiff is worth hundreds of thousands to a law firm, and a $1,500 fine won't stop the barrage of robo dials hitting the phones of thousands of potential candidates.
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#VeteransRights #ConsumerProtection #LegalIssues #Litigation #WaterContamination #HealthRisks #ClassActions #Lawyers
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