Plaintiffs’ attorney Kristina Baehr speaks with reporters outside U.S. District Court in Honolulu, May 13, 2024, following the conclusion of the trial phase of Feindt vs. United States. (Wyatt Olson/Stars and Stripes)
A federal judge in Hawaii on Wednesday awarded nearly $600,000 to 17 plaintiffs who sued the U.S. government after being sickened by jet fuel-contaminated water on Oahu in late 2021 — a fraction of the $7 million they had sought.
The decision by U.S. District Judge Leslie Kobayashi comes a year after the two-week trial in U.S. District Court in Honolulu ended in May 2023.
The award more closely aligns with a post-trial brief from government attorneys, who recommended no more than $458,792 in total compensation.
The 17 bellwether plaintiffs in the civil case Feindt vs. United States represent the first of thousands to sue the government after the fuel spill, which tainted drinking water in military housing on and near Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam.
The decision is expected to serve as a benchmark for future claims.
The spill originated from the Red Hill Bulk Fuel Storage Facility, a World War II-era underground complex that is now being prepared for permanent closure.
Kobayashi awarded general damages for pain and suffering ranging from $5,000 to $75,000 per plaintiff. Each was also awarded $1,000 for “loss of enjoyment of life,” according to the decision.
Four plaintiffs received a combined $38,489 in “special damages” for future medical expenses.
The lead plaintiff, Patrick Feindt, was the only one to receive compensation for economic loss, totaling $2,144. Kobayashi wrote “there was no credible evidence supporting a claim for economic injury or wage loss for any other plaintiff.”
Feindt and his two children were awarded just over $61,000. His wife, Army officer Amanda Feindt, has filed a separate lawsuit on behalf of active-duty service members.
The decision was a rejection of the government’s assertions that the contaminated water did not cause harm, according to Just Well Law, one of the firms representing the plaintiffs.
“In the ruling, Judge Kobayashi found for the families on important legal issues in the case, including that the contamination reached all neighborhoods on the Navy water line and that the families’ health claims were not just psychosomatic, as the Government had claimed,” the firm said in a statement Thursday.
Amanda Feindt said in a text message Thursday that her family of four had undergone more than 750 medical appointments, including multiple surgeries and ongoing specialty care, since being exposed.
“No dollar amount will ever change the lasting harm and institutional betrayal felt by my family, my brothers & sisters in arms, and thousands of innocent civilians who were treated like collateral damage after the Navy knowingly poisoned them and contaminated Hawaii’s most precious resource — its water,” she wrote.
Feindt said “the real win” is that Kobayashi’s ruling holds the Navy accountable.
“This is something DOD officials have refused to do since the start of this crisis,” she wrote.
The government admitted liability for the spill before trial, but its attorneys argued that plaintiffs were not exposed to enough contamination to cause harm.
Plaintiffs testified that they suffered from gastrointestinal and neurological conditions, as well as rashes, throat and mouth sores, and anxiety.
