KBR drops rape-case appeal; Franken pleased
Defense contractor worried that it might have been in violation of senator's new amendment.
By KEVIN DIAZ, Star Tribune
WASHINGTON - In a victory for Minnesota Democrat Al Franken, military contractor KBR has decided to drop a Supreme Court appeal in the case of a former company clerk who alleges she was raped by co-workers in Iraq.
KBR's decision represents the first significant legal fallout from the "Franken amendment," which protects defense workers from being forced to accept arbitration after suffering sexual assault, battery or discrimination. The measure became the subject of a testy Senate battle that reverberated in legal circles and in popular culture as the subject of a Jon Stewart rant on cable TV's "The Daily Show."
"I'm thankful that Jamie Leigh will finally have her long-overdue day in court," Franken said. "She's one of the most courageous women I have ever met and any role I played in helping her seek justice was my honor."
Congratulations to Senator Franken for his good work!
There has been a a lot of bad news for the Houston-based military contractor KBR. See ericlewis0 's Diary on rec list, that highlights Reuters
WASHINGTON, April 1 (Reuters) - The U.S. Justice Department said on Thursday it sued the Houston-based military contractor KBR Inc (KBR.N) for alleged false claims act violations over improper costs for private security in Iraq.
The lawsuit, filed in federal court in Washington, D.C., alleged that KBR knowingly included impermissible costs for private armed security in billings to the U.S. Army covering the 2003-2006 time period, the department said.
KBR has been the U.S. military's largest private contractor in Iraq and Afghanistan. It has been criticized for cost overruns in Iraq, and lawmakers in Congress last month questioned the Army's continued use of KBR for logistics work.
Story in: (BUSINESS WIRE)
On April 1, 2010, a federal lawsuit was filed in Washington DC, alleging violations of the False Claims Act regarding improper costs for private security in Iraq committed by KBR, a Houston, Texas based military contractor. The lawsuit alleges that KBR knowingly included impermissible costs for private armed security in billings it made to the Army during 2003 to 2006. The lawsuit seeks damages for the government for alleged procurement fraud by KBR. Senator Bob Casey, D-Pa., referring to KBR's "pattern of abuse" said they "must be punished for past behavior and in future contract decisions." In 2009 KBR pled guilty to bribery of foreign officials and paid $539 million to settle that case.
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Next....(Kendall Law Group Investigates KBR, Inc. for Shareholders After Feds File Suit)
DALLAS, Apr 02, 2010 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- Kendall Law Group, a national securities litigation firm, is investigating KBR, Inc. quotescomstock/13*!kbr/quotes/nls/kbr (KBR 22.68, 0.00, 0.00%) for shareholders in connection to a federal lawsuit filed by the Department of Justice against the Company. The firm is investigating whether KBR breached their fiduciary duties to shareholders when they charged the costs of private security to a government contract..
And if that wasn't enough....
Indiana National Guard soldiers re-file lawsuit against KBR
Attorneys for Indiana National Guard soldiers exposed to a dangerous chemical in Iraq have refilled their lawsuit against a military contractor in a federal court in Houston.
The lawsuit claims that the contractor concealed the risks faced by nearly 140 Hoosier soldiers potentially exposed to a cancer-causing agent.
The Guard soldiers were among hundreds from several states providing security for Texas-based KBR at the Qarmat Ali water-pumping station near Basra, Iraq, months after the U.S.-led invasion in 2003.
The initially filed case was dismissed in February by a federal judge in Indianapolis on the grounds that the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Indiana lacked "personal jurisdiction" over KBR and several related companies.
Kudos to Senator Franken and also to Representative Grayson (who did a lot of work on the contractor problem). It looks like we got the ball rolling to do something about these guys!!!