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Halliburton subsidiary KBR suing veterans for legal bills of case KBR lost
Mon Jul 27, 2015 at 11:19 AM PDT
Halliburton subsidiary KBR suing veterans for legal bills of case KBR lost
by Walter Einenkel
A child looks at the prosthetic legs of Wounded Warrior Amputee Softball team members during a Memorial Day Parade in Binghamton, New York May 28, 2012. Wounded Warrior Amputee Softball team members are U.S. veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars who l
attribution: REUTERS
You too can make the ultimate sacrifice and be sued by taxpayer-funded private contractors.
KBR, formerly known as Kellogg, Brown & Root, formerly a subsidiary of Halliburton, has decided to sue 12 National Guard veterans for $850,000 in lost legal fees.
After developing health problems consistent with hexavalent chromium exposure, the veterans sued KBR for negligence in Federal Court in Portland. After a month long trial, the jury awarded the veterans $85 Million in 2012. KBR appealed, and sought $30 Million in legal fees and damages from the veterans for initiating the lawsuit.
The soldiers, residents of Oregon and under orders from the Department of Defense, placed on loan to a private entity contracted by the DoD, sued in their home state in federal court, not state court. They argued that a chemical used at the Qarmat Ali treatment facility had, to the knowledge of KBR, contaminated the site. Remaining at the site without being informed of the presence of the cancer agent by DoD or KBR constituted negligence. The Oregon jury agreed.
The soldiers, residents of Oregon and under orders from the Department of Defense, placed on loan to a private entity contracted by the DoD, sued in their home state in federal court, not state court. They argued that a chemical used at the Qarmat Ali treatment facility had, to the knowledge of KBR, contaminated the site. Remaining at the site without being informed of the presence of the cancer agent by DoD or KBR constituted negligence. The Oregon jury agreed.
The case was the result of events from 2003 when KBR was officially a subsidiary of Halliburton. However, it wasn't until earlier this year when the Supreme Court said it was okay for veterans to sue the Houston-based company. So how come KBR can sue these veterans for legal fees, you might ask?
Oregon veterans and victims of toxic burn pit exposure linked to contractor Halliburton were devastated when the 9th Circuit overturned a landmark $85 million verdict. Soldiers contend they were knowingly exposed, but the allegations have obviously been denied.
[...]
Halliburton’s subsidiary Kellogg, Brown and Root (KBR) allegedly exposed soldiers to toxic burn pit smoke at Qarmat Ali. The 9th Circuit held that Oregon veterans were unable to hold KBR accountable in their home state. Instead, counsel for the veterans now plans to sue KBR in Houston.
[...]
Halliburton’s subsidiary Kellogg, Brown and Root (KBR) allegedly exposed soldiers to toxic burn pit smoke at Qarmat Ali. The 9th Circuit held that Oregon veterans were unable to hold KBR accountable in their home state. Instead, counsel for the veterans now plans to sue KBR in Houston.
So, it was overturned but not because KBR isn't still entirely responsible for making these soldiers ill because of their greed and/or incompetence. If you read the site you aren't surprised that anything with even the lightest hint of Halliburton stench on it is rotten to the core. Unfortunately, this tactic of trying to crush people financially with mountains of litigation can frequently work. Oregon's representative delegation sans the one Republican have sent a letter to Defense Secretary Ashton Carter urging him to take over the litigation and settle with the 12 Oregon veterans. The letter outlines the biggest problem in all of this: the KBR contract with the Department of Defense immunizes the private contractor from any litigation.
more...
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2015/07/27/1406142/-Halliburton-subsidiary-KBR-suing-veterans-for-legal-bills-of-case-KBR-lost?detail=facebook
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