N.C. Statute of Repose Law Can't Be Applied Retroactively in Camp Lejeune Injury Suits

摘要

A North Carolina law passed to counter the effects of the U.S. Supreme Court decision in CTS Corp. v. Waldburger can't be applied retroactively to revive personal injury claims by military personnel at Camp Lejeune, a federal appeals court ruled Oct. 14 (Bryant v. United States, 2014 BL 286518, 11th Cir., No. 12-15424, 10/14/14). Although the state legislature said it was "clarifying" the 10-year statute of repose to exclude groundwater contamination claims, the U. S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit held that the amendment wasn't a clarification but rather was a "substantively distinct exception." Because substantive amendments can only apply pro-spectively under North Carolina precedent, the new version of the law doesn't apply to the Camp Lejeune suits, the court said.