West Virginia Soldiers’ Lawsuits Dismissed

“The plaintiffs argue that the defendants knew that the plaintiffs were from West Virginia and would presumably return to West Virginia. The plaintiffs believe that because their alleged diseases manifested in West Virginia, that defendants directed their conduct into West Virginia and West Virginia is the focal point of the harm. The plaintiffs provide no support for their contention. In this case, the alleged injury occurred in Iraq. The tort does not relocate to wherever any of these plaintiffs chooses to reside, even though the effects of the alleged injury may be felt there,” Stamp wrote in his ruling.

“… This court concludes that West Virginia is not the focal point of the tortious activity.”

A federal lawsuit filed by Indiana soldiers who provided security at Qarmat Ali resulted in a similar outcome, as the judge there ruled Indiana was not the proper venue to hear the case. The soldiers from the Indiana lawsuit have joined a similar federal lawsuit with other soldiers in Texas who allege they were exposed to sodium dichromate at Qarmat Ali. KBR is headquartered in Texas.

“Judge Stamp has ruled that the National Guardsmen cannot get jurisdiction against KBR in West Virginia,” said Wheeling attorney William Wilmoth, who represents KBR in the case. “He granted our motions (to dismiss) in both of the cases.”

Kessler said Friday that he still believes West Virginia is the proper venue for the lawsuits, but now that Stamp has ruled to the contrary, a decision will be made as to appealing the ruling to the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals or consolidating the case with the Texas lawsuit.

“What we will not do is let the issue go away,” Kessler said. “These soldiers were injured, they were hurt, they suffered, and they are experiencing ongoing health effects, in our view, to their exposure to sodium dichromate while they were serving our country. We further continue to believe that KBR is responsible for this exposure.”

Simon did not immediately return phone messages left at his office on Friday. (Click HERE for original article)

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