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Federal court ruling in KBR case shields contractors from some wartime lawsuits
A federal appeals court ruling in a lawsuit involving a severely brain-damaged U.S. soldier will make it more difficult to sue military contractors for actions on the battlefield.
The 11th Circuit Court of Appeals handed down its ruling [pdf] last week in Carmichael vs. KBR, a civil suit brought by the wife of a soldier who received a profound brain injury in a wreck during a fuel convoy in Iraq. The appellate court held that the woman cannot sue KBR, the Houston-based civilian contractor that was delivering the fuel.
Sgt. Keith Carmichael was a so-called "shooter" riding in a tanker truck operated by KBR during a 2004 convoy north of Baghdad, an area well-known for attacks on U.S. forces as well as private contractors. When the driver lost control of the vehicle while rounding a curve, Carmichael was thrown from and pinned beneath the truck. The severe injuries he suffered left him in a permanent vegetative state.
Annette Carmichael of Atlanta sued KBR along with its former parent company, Halliburton, and the truck driver in Georgia state court in 2006. KBR got the lawsuit moved to federal court in Atlanta and then asked for dismissal, arguing that the military was in charge of the convoy.
U.S. District Court Judge Timothy C. Batten dismissed the lawsuit, finding it raised a political question involving the military role in the convoy. Carmichael appealed on the grounds that the contractor was responsible for the accident.