Reply #31: Corrie et al. v. Caterpillar, Inc.

[Englander]

Synopsis

This federal lawsuit was initiated on March 15, 2005 against Illinois-based Caterpillar, Inc. on behalf of the parents of Rachel Corrie, a 23 year old American peace activist and student who was run over and killed by a Caterpillar D9 bulldozer in Gaza as she was trying to protect a home from being demolished while the family was inside. On May 2, 2005, the complaint was amended to include four Palestinian families whose family members were killed or injured when Caterpillar bulldozers demolished their homes on top of them.

Working with CCR on the case are: the International Human Rights Clinic at Ronald A. Peterson Law Clinic at Seattle University School of Law, Seattle-based Public Interest Law Group, PLLC, and the Palestinian Center for Human Rights.

Current Status

In November 2005, Judge Franklin Burgess granted Caterpillar's motion to dismiss the case without permitting discovery or hearing oral argument. CCR appealed the decision to the Ninth Circuit on March 20th, 2006 and will present oral arguments setting out why this case should be permitted to go forward on July 9, 2007 in Seattle, Washington.

Description

The suit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington, alleges that Caterpillar, Inc. violated international and state law by providing D9 bulldozers to Israel Defense Forces (IDF) that it knew would be used to demolish homes and endanger civilians. In doing so, Caterpillar aided and abetted the crimes committed by the IDF by knowingly providing assistance that had a substantial effect on the commission of the violations.

The violations of international and state law include: war crimes (including destruction of private property), extrajudicial killings, cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, and wrongful death. The claims were brought under the Alien Tort Statute, the Torture Victim Protection Act and 28 U.S.C. § 1331.

The United States, international human rights organizations, and the United Nations have condemned house demolitions as a clear violation of international humanitarian law.

Plaintiffs

Al Sho'bi family: Mahmoud Omar Al Sho'bi is from Nablus in the West Bank. In April 2002, a D9 bulldozer destroyed Mr. Al Sho'bi's family home without warning in an IDF attack in the middle of the night. His father Umar, his sisters Fatima and Abir, his brother Samir and pregnant sister-in-law Nabila, and their three children, ages 4, 7, and 9, were all killed. After the Al Sho'bi family home was demolished, the IDF kept the area under strict curfew for days, denying access to rescue workers, and it was not until a week later that the families' bodies were found under the rubble of the house by relatives and neighbors.

Fayed family: Fathiya Muhammad Sulayman Fayed's home was bulldozed during an IDF incursion into the Jenin Refugee Camp in 2002. Hundreds of buildings were destroyed allegedly to clear paths for IDF's tanks. During the demolition, her son, Jamal, who was paralyzed, needed assistance to get out of the house. While the IDF initially stopped bulldozing so Fathiya could help Jamal, they resumed demolition. Fathiya escaped, but Jamal could not and was killed.

Abu Hussein family: A D9 bulldozer demolished the Abu Hussein home in the al-Salam neighborhood of Rafah in 2002. The destruction began without warning at 5:00 a.m., physically injuring six family members inside. After being warned, the IDF halted active demolition, but fired on neighbors or relatives trying to evacuate those in the house. The family was eventually rescued.

Corrie Family: On March 16, 2003, Rachel Corrie, a student at The Evergreen State College in Olympia, Washington, was killed by a Caterpillar D9 bulldozer in Rafah, Gaza, Palestine. Rachel was attempting to prevent the home of a local pharmacist from being demolished while the family was still inside. Despite being in plain view and wearing a florescent orange vest, Rachel was crushed to death when the bulldozer drove over her.

Khalafallah family: In a July 2004 incursion into Khan Yunis Refugee Camp, the IDF demolished over 70 homes. At midnight, a bulldozer approached the home of Ibrahim Khalafallah and his wife Eida, where they lived with their 5 children, 2 daughters-in-law, and 4 grandchildren. Ibrahim, in his 70s and sick, was unable to move. When the bulldozer hit the house, Eida tried to stop the driver, but he continued, destroying the home and killing Ibrahim.

http://www.ccr-ny.org/v2/legal/corporate_accountability/corporateArticle.asp?ObjID=CRXBCCBcud&Content=1069