» Lawsuits Against KBR Ms Sparky

KBR asks federal judge to dismiss case brought by Oregon soldiers

Posted on: January 27th, 2012 at 2:42 pm — by Ms Sparky

Mike Francis – (The Oregonian) – January 27, 2012 – Lawyers for defense contractor KBR Inc. asked a federal judge in Portland Friday to dismiss the suit brought by a group of Oregon National Guard soldiers who said the KBR knowingly exposed them to a carcinogenic compound while they served in Iraq in 2003.

U.S. District Judge Paul Papak heard the arguments for two hours Friday morning, then said he would rule on KBR’s request in the coming weeks.

Friday’s arguments, while delivered in calm and measured tones, included some stinging accusations. KBR’s lawyer said the soldiers’ primary medical expert is “a junk scientist who cannot be trusted.” And the soldiers’ lawyer said KBR committed “fraud” in its conduct at the Qarmat Ali water treatment plant and in its actions afterward.

While KBR is technically asking the judge to dismiss the entire case brought by 34 Oregon National Guard soldiers, KBR lawyer Geoffrey Harrison of the Houston law firm of Susman Godfrey acknowledged that he expects some subset of the group will survive the legal challenge and proceed toward trial.

(Read the rest of the story here…)

Posted in A Soldiers Story, CHEMICAL AND OTHER EXPOSURES, GOV. CONTRACTORS, KBR Contract, KBR Investigations, Lawsuits Against KBR, RIO-KBR, Sodium Dichromate @ Qarmat Ali. Tags: David Sugerman, Hexavalent Chromium, Jeffrey Eden, Judge Paul Papak, KBR, Oregon National Guard, Qarmat Ali, Schwabe Williamson & Wyatt, Sodium Dichromate. No Comments »

David Isenberg: Gun? Check. Radio? Check. Lawyer? Check!

Posted on: January 20th, 2012 at 10:46 am — by Ms Sparky

David Isenberg – (Huffington Post) – January 20, 2012 – Some things just seem to go together: day and night, bread and butter, Romeo and Juliet, Abbott and Costello, Crosby and Hope, Batman and Robin, Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck, Cheech and Chong, Sonny and Cher, Beavis and Butthead and sharks and suckerfish (remora) for example. In light of that last pair, another symbiotic pair is private military and security contractors and lawyers.

When historians try to calculate the various benefits that the past decade of privatized contingency operations has brought, one hopes they won’t forget to include the huge number of billable hours that various law firms representing various plaintiffs and defendants have amassed. Firms like KBR, Blackwater and DynCorp alone have doubtlessly enabled scores of lawyers to pay for their children’s education all the way up through doctorates.

For example, earlier this month the security company once known as Blackwater, now Academi, agreed to settle a lawsuit filed by six victims or their families in the Sept. 16, 2007 shootings in Baghdad’s Nisoor Square, an incident that remains a lightning rod over the use of private contractors in war.

According to Charlotte, North Carolina law firm Lewis & Roberts, who represented the victims in this case, the lawsuit was the “last active civil suit stemming from the incident,” in which five Blackwater guards were accused in 14 deaths of civilians.

Also this month the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), announced that DynCorp International, a Falls Church, Va.-based private military contractor and aircraft maintenance company, will pay $155,000 and furnish other significant relief to settle a sex-based harassment and retaliation lawsuit.

(Read the rest of the story here…)

KBR Driver Prevails in Suit Over Convoy Danger in Iraq

Posted on: January 10th, 2012 at 11:44 am — by Ms Sparky

KBR Settles Suit Over Driver’s Claim Company Knew of Danger to Iraq Convoy

By Margaret Cronin Fisk and Laurel Brubaker Calkins – Jan 10, 2012 10:17 AM PT

KBR Inc. (KBR) settled a lawsuit brought by an injured convoy driver who claimed the company sent civilians into a battle zone in Iraq in 2004 knowing they would be attacked and possibly killed, according to a court filing.

Reginald Cecil Lane, the driver, reached a “confidential settlement” with KBR and its former parent, Halliburton Co. (HAL), his lawyer, Tommy Fibich, said yesterday in court papers. Lane and the defendants asked the court to dismiss the lawsuit, according to the filing.

“Lane was severely injured in the attack, and his wife died during the pendency of the case,” Fibich said today in a phone interview. He declined to comment further on the settlement, citing the confidentiality agreement.

KBR, a Houston-based government contractor, was also sued by the families of seven drivers who were killed in Iraq. The company is appealing a ruling by U.S. District Judge Gray Miller in Houston allowing the suits to go forward. The other claims haven’t been settled, Scott Allen, a lawyer for the families, said today in a phone interview.

Sharon Bolen, a KBR spokeswoman, didn’t immediately comment on the settlement with Lane, which was reached in late December, according to appeals court records. Beverly Stafford, a Halliburton spokeswoman, didn’t immediately respond to a call or e-mail seeking comment on the settlement.

Recruited Workers
The drivers and their families claim KBR officials fraudulently recruited workers for safe jobs in Iraq and intentionally sent unarmed civilians into a recognized combat zone in April 2004. The military-supply contract gave company officials the right to refuse assignments deemed too dangerous for civilians, according to the complaints. (Read the rest of the story here…)

Posted in CONTRACTOR DEATHS, Fisher vs KBR, GOV. CONTRACTORS, LAWSUITS, Lawsuits Against KBR, LOGCAP III - KBR. Tags: David Kasanow, Fisher vs KBR, Good Friday Massacre, Halliburton, Judge Gray Miller, Lane vs KBR, Lawrence Ebner, Reginald Cecil Lane, Sharon Bolen, Tommy Fibich. No Comments »

Judge allows late documents but penalizes victims in Qarmat Ali suit againt KBR

Posted on: January 6th, 2012 at 7:55 am — by Ms Sparky

Let me get this straight, Judge Papak is allowing KBR to bill the soldiers and surviving family members for legal fees that the taxpayer is obligated to pay because the Pentagon, in their infinite wisdom, gave KBR an indemnity clause in their contract that covers their corporate ass even if the company is proven to be at fault or liable! If KBR isn’t footing the bill for this litigation in the first place what legal expenses have they incurred?

I have to believe that Judge Papak made this decision based on the letter of the law and to avoid grounds for appeal as this case moves forward. However, this is the second time a judge has allowed these corporate vultures to collect money from plaintiffs aka victims for legal fees. You have to know that the merry band of misfits KBR calls managers have added this tidbit to their arsenal of threats right along side “chicken or pasta.”

What’s next, a “fact sheet” touting how the company is saving the taxpayer money by recouping legal fees from injured soldiers and the survivors of those that have died; at the hands of companies who were hired to serve and protect our warriors serving the United States in a combat zone? ~Ms Sparky

National Guardsmen to Pay for Late Maneuver
Nick McCann – (Courthouse News) – PORTLAND, Ore. – January 4, 2011 – A group of Oregon National Guard members who say KBR exposed them to toxic sodium dichromate at an Iraqi water-treatment plant are on the hook for part of the defense contractor’s legal fees, a federal judge ruled. (Read the rest of the story here…)

Posted in A Soldiers Story, CHEMICAL AND OTHER EXPOSURES, GOV. CONTRACTORS, LAWSUITS, Lawsuits Against KBR, Qarmat Ali Lawsuits, Reports & Investigations, RIO-KBR, Sodium Dichromate @ Qarmat Ali. Tags: Hexavalent Chromium, Judge Paul Papak, KBR, Oregon National Guard, Qarmat Ali, Sodium Dichromate. 4 Comments »

Ryan we haven’t forgotten you

Posted on: January 2nd, 2012 at 7:07 am — by Ms Sparky

SSG Ryan Maseth was electrocuted in his shower in Baghdad and died January 2, 2008

The war in Iraq is all but over and our troops have pulled out. It’s been four years today since 24 year old SSG Ryan Maseth was electrocuted and died while showering in his living quarters at Radwaniyah Palace Complex in Baghdad. Ryan’s courageous mother, Cheryl Harris continues to fight, not only for the rights of her son, but for the safety of soldiers everywhere.

Cheryl filed suit against KBR for the death of her son. Although this suit drags on in the US courts at an agonizingly slow pace. KBR has pulled out all the stops in attempts to have this case dismissed in US courts, but much to KBR’s dismay, it hasn’t.

I will write every year I’m able to remind people of Ryan’s death, the product of corporate greed and corruption, and heroes like Cheryl Harris. We need more heroes like Cheryl!

You can read more on Cheryl’s case against KBR at Cheryl Harris vs KBR.

Below are links to past posts I’ve written and published on the anniversary of Ryan’s death.

SSG Ryan Maseth – You must be very proud! (2009)
Does anyone know what day this is? (2010)
3rd anniversary of the electrocution death of SSG Ryan Maseth (2011)

Cheryl, I pray the next post I publish about Ryan is how you succeeded in holding KBR accountable for his senseless death!

Ms Sparky

Posted in A Soldiers Story, Cheryl Harris vs KBR, Electrocutions/Shocks, GOV. CONTRACTORS, KBR's CAR's, LAWSUITS, Lawsuits Against KBR, LOGCAP III - KBR, Ryan Maseth-US Army. Tags: Cheryl Harris, Electrocutions, Electrocutions/Shocks, Judge Nora Barry Fischer, LAWSUITS, Lawsuits Against KBR, SSG Ryan Maseth. 1 Comment »

Not so fast and other news

Posted on: January 1st, 2012 at 4:15 pm — by Forseti

Contractor linked to mistaken deaths
After deaths of 15 Afghans in 2010, Army learned that U.S. civilian played a role using drone video feeds.
David S. Cloud – (STL Today) – WASHINGTON – December 31, 2011 – After a U.S. airstrike mistakenly killed at least 15 Afghans in 2010, the Army officer investigating the accident was surprised to discover that an American civilian had played a central role: analyzing video feeds from a Predator drone keeping watch from above.

The contractor had overseen other analysts at Air Force Special Operations Command at Hurlburt Field in Florida as the drone tracked suspected insurgents near a small unit of U.S. soldiers in rugged hills in central Afghanistan. Based partly on her analysis, an Army captain ordered an airstrike on a convoy that turned out to be carrying innocent men, women and children.

“What company do you work for?” Maj. Gen. Timothy McHale demanded of the contractor after he learned that she was not in the military, according to a transcript obtained under the Freedom of Information Act.

“SAIC,” she answered. Her employer, SAIC Inc., is a publicly traded Virginia-based corporation with a multiyear $49 million contract to help the Air Force analyze drone video and other intelligence from Afghanistan.

America’s growing drone operations rely on hundreds of civilian contractors, including some, such as the SAIC employee, who work in the so-called kill chain before Hellfire missiles are launched, according to current and former military officers, company employees and internal government documents. (Click HERE for article)

Obama Signs Defense Authorization Bill
Sara Sorcher – (National Journal) – December 31, 2011 – President Obama signed on Saturday the defense authorization bill, formally ending weeks of heated debate in Congress and intense lobbying by the administration to strip controversial provisions requiring the transfer of some terror suspects to military custody.

(Read the rest of the story here…)

Posted in A Soldiers Story, Civilian Contractors, GOV. CONTRACTORS, Indictments, Convictions & Arrests, LAWSUITS, Lawsuits Against KBR, LOGCAP III - KBR, Politics, Reports & Investigations, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Tags: Alex N. Cho, Benjamin Carter, British Petroleum, Christian Davel Careaga, COL Theodore Westhusing, Corinne "Nani" Cabral, CPT Jay Harting, CPT Stephen Frank, Deep Water Horizon, Defense Authorization Bill, DoD*, Eyak Corp., Eyak Technology, EyakTek, Fast Pipe and Supply Company, Flase Claims Act, Fluor Hanford, Fluor*, Gabriela de la Maza, GAO, Halliburton, Hana Group, Hanford Nuclear Facility, Harold F. Babb, Judge James Cacheris, KBR, Kerry F. Khan, Lee A. Khan, Maj. Gen. Timothy McHale, Michael A. Alexander, Nova Datacom LLC, Pearl Harbor Naval Base, Pentagon, PTSD, SAIC, SGM Emily Perez, Shane Fast, Skyler Hamm, USACE, Vietnam Veterans of America, West Point, Young N. Cho. No Comments »

U.S. Army protects KBR from willfull misconduct in Iraq

Posted on: December 16th, 2011 at 2:12 pm — by Ms Sparky

Indemnification clauses are nothing new in defense contracting. Many defense contractors now have or have had in the past, contracts with the Pentagon containing indemnity provisions. These provisions potentially immunize the contractors from legal accountability for harm caused during the implementation of their contracts. Indemnification clauses are most commonly found in high risk contracts dealing with the manufacture and disposal of hazardous materials for the Pentagon. Most importantly these indemnification clauses are not necessarily “classified” by the Pentagon unlike the indemnification clause that was added to KBR’s no bid contract to Restore Iraqi Oil (RIO) at Qarmat Ali in Southern Iraq in 2003.

In a deposition filed in U.S. District Court in Portland, Oregon in the case of the deadly hexavalent chromium exposure of Oregon National Guardsman and others, it was revealed that on March 18, 2003, the eve of the Iraq invasion, a KBR attorney secured a secret indemnification clause ensuring U.S. taxpayers, and not KBR, would pay for damages in the event of any death or injury which occurred during KBR’s implementation of the Restore Iraqi Oil no-bid contract in Southern Iraq, a contract worth over $2.5B.

The typical defense contractor indemnification provisions (pdf) for defense contracts, entered as Plaintiff’s exhibit #34 in the Oregon National Guard case against KBR states:

Section (e) – The Contractor shall not be reimbursed for liabilities (and expenses incidental to such liabilities)–

Section (e)(3) – That result from willful misconduct or lack of good faith on the part of any of the Contractor’s directors, officers, managers, superintendents, or other representatives who have supervision or direction of–

(i) All or substantially all of the Contractor’s business;

(ii) All or substantially all of the Contractor’s operations at any one plant or separate locations in which this contract is being performed; or

(iii) a separate and complete major industrial operation in connection with the performance of this contract.

KBR’s recently declassified indemnification provisions (pdf) for the $2.5B no-bid Restore Iraqi Oil contract in Southern Iraq are a stark contrast to the typical indemnification afforded to other defense contractors and states: (Read the rest of the story here…)