Overview
- The Justice Department issued about $17 million to 629 plaintiffs, a payment batch the DOJ says was distributed on Monday, June 22.
- The settlements stem from a November 2021 jet-fuel leak at the Navy’s Red Hill facility that contaminated drinking water used by military families and civilians and forced large-scale evacuations.
- DOJ Civil Division officials say roughly 3,600 civilian plaintiffs have reached settlements so far and more than 6,500 FTCA claims remain in the system and are being processed for court approval and Treasury payment.
- Plaintiffs’ lawyers say the recent average payout of roughly $27,000 per person is far lower than many bellwether awards set by Judge Leslie Kobayashi in May 2025, and some families are refusing low offers and continuing litigation.
- A separate legal fight over service-member compensation is on appeal to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit because the government argues some exposures were 'incident to military service,' which could bar many active-duty claims.