The War Profiteers - The Blackwater Killings Civil Suit II

“[…] Plaintiff hereby moves the Court pursuant to Rules 15(a), 20 and 21 of the Rules of Civil Procedure for leave to amend his complaint. As set forth in the accompanying memorandum of points and authorities, the proposed First Amended Complaint adds the Estate of Kadhum Kayiz Aziz. Mr. Aziz was shot and killed by Blackwater during the September 9, 2007, massacre. […]”

March 28^th, 2008 - Minute Order

Based upon the response of the parties to the Court’s minute order to show cause entered on March 14, 2008, and in accordance with a minute order entered this same date in Atban v. Blackwater USA, Civil Action No. 07-1831 (RBW) (D.D.C.), it is ordered that this case is consolidated with Atban v. Blackwater USA, Civil Action No. 07-1831 (RBW) (D.D.C.), for purposes of pre-trial discovery and briefing. It is further ordered that future filings in these consolidated cases shall be made in the first instance in Atban v. Blackwater USA, Civil Action No. 07-1831 (RBW) (D.D.C.), and “spread” to this docket by the parties using the Court’s Case Management/Electronic Case Filing system once consolidation has been effectuated by the Clerk of the Court. It is further ordered that this case is administratively closed unless and until the case proceeds to trial, at which time the case shall be re-opened. Signed by Judge Reggie B. Walton on 3/28/08.

March 21^st, 2008 - Defendants’ Response to the Order to Show Cause

“[…] The Court entered an order on March 14, 2008, instructing the parties to show cause why this case should not be consolidated with Abtan et al. v. Blackwater Worldwide et al., Case No. 1:07-cv-01831, also pending before the Court. Defendants do not oppose consolidation of this case with the Abtan case for purposes of pretrial discovery and proceedings. Defendants do, however, oppose consolidation for purposes of trial. […]”

March 14^th, 2008 - Minute Order to Show Cause

In the interests of judicial economy, it is ordered that on or before March 21, 2008, the parties shall show cause, if any they wish to assert, why the Court should not consolidate this case with Atban v. Blackwater USA, Civil Action No. 07-1831 (RBW) (D.D.C.). Signed by Judge Reggie B. Walton on 3/14/08.

March 7^th, 2008 - Defendants’ Reply in Support of their Motion to Dismiss the Amended Complaint

“[…] Plaintiffs’ opposition brief offers invective, unsupported accusations, and hyperbole instead of legal argumentation. We will not burden the Court with detailed responses to Plaintiffs’ ad hominern attacks. Those attacks - which mirror the repeated public statements by Plaintiffs’ counsel - are irrelevant to the legal issue presented by the venue motion before this Court.

“Plaintiffs’ attempt to divert this Court's attention away from the relevant legal issue is understandable, however, given the lack of support for their effort to establish venue in this District. Defendants showed in their opening brief, Docket No. 9 (‘Defs. Br.’), that the Amended Complaint failed to establish any basis for venue in this Court. […]”

February 19^th, 2008 - Plaintiff’s Opposition to Defendant’s Motion to Dismiss

“[…] This is an action alleging that Erik Prince and his Blackwater companies are lawless mercenaries who have obtained federal government business under the false pretense of operating lawful enterprises. This is an action alleging that Erik Prince and his Blackwater companies wrongfully procured a contract and earned more than one billion dollars from the United States Department of State by making misrepresentations in this District. This is an action alleging that Erik Prince and his Blackwater companies wrongfully permitted ‘shooters’ known to be on steroids to repeatedly and routinely use excessive force against Iraqis. This is an action alleging that Erik Prince and his Blackwater companies are affirmatively misleading Congress about the extent of their consistent and excessive use of force.

“The District of Columbia, as the seat of the federal government (including the Department of State), is the place where a substantial number of acts and omissions critical to Plaintiffs’ claims occurred. Indeed, but for acts and omissions by Prince and the Blackwater companies in the District of Columbia, the innocents who lost their lives in Al Watahba Square on September 9 would be alive today. […]”

January 22^nd, 2008 - Defendants’ Motion to Dismiss the Complaint for Lack of Venue

“[…] Defendants Blackwater Worldwide; Blackwater USA; Blackwater Lodge and Training Center, Inc.; Blackwater Security Consulting, LLC; Blackwater Armor and Targets, LLC; Blackwater Airships, LLC; Blackwater Logistics, LLC; Blackwater Canine; Raven Development Group, LLC; Greystone Limited; Total Intelligence Solutions, LLC; Prince Group LLC; EP Investments, LLC; and Erik Prince (collectively, ‘Defendants’), pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1406(a) and Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(b)(3) move for dismissal of Plaintiffs’ Amended Complaint for lack of venue or, in the alternative, for the transfer of this action to the Eastern District of Virginia. Defendants also move for dismissal of three named non-legal entities-Blackwater Worldwide, Blackwater USA, and Blackwater Canine-for lack of personal jurisdiction, pursuant to Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(b)(2); for lack of capacity to be sued, pursuant to Fed. R. Civ. P. 17(b); and for misjoinder of Parties, pursuant to Fed. R. Civ. P. 21 .

“As required by Local Rule 7(a), the reasons supporting this motion are set forth in the attached Defendants’ Memorandum in Support of Their Motion to Dismiss the Amended Complaint for Lack of Venue and to Dismiss Non-Legal Entities. A Proposed Order is also attached as required by Local Rule 7(c). Defendants have served counsel for Plaintiffs with copies of this Motion, the Memorandum and its supporting documents, and the Proposed Order. […]”

January 2^nd, 2007 - Certificate Required by LCVR 7.1 of the Local Rules

“[…] I, the undersigned, counsel of record for the Defendants,1 certify to the best of my knowledge and belief, that there are no parent companies, subsidiaries, or affiliates of any of the Defendants which have any outstanding securities in the hands of the public. These representations are made in order that judges of this Court may determine the need for recusal. […]”

January 2^nd, 2007 - Joint Stipulation & Proposed Order Re Service of Process & Scheduling

“[…] The parties hereby agree and stipulate to the following: 1. Defendants agree to accept service and waive any and all service defects without any further process or request for waiver necessary on Plaintiffs’ part. 2. Defendants shall answer or otherwise move in response to the amended complaint by January 22, 2008. 3. Plaintiffs shall file a responsive pleading by February 19, 2008. 4. Defendants shall file a reply, if any, by March 7, 2008. The parties request that this Court adopt the proposed order attached hereto. […]”

December 19^th, 2007 - Complaint

“[…] 2. On September 9, 2007, heavily-armed Blackwater mercenaries (known in Blackwater parlance as ‘shooters’) working in Iraq fired, without justification, on a crowd of innocent Iraqi civilians in and around Al Watahba Square resulting in multiple deaths and injuries. Plaintiff Ali Hussamaldeen Ibrahim Albazzaz was among those killed in this massacre. This senseless slaughter on September 9, 2007, was only one in a series of recent incidents in Blackwater’s lengthy pattern of egregious misconduct in Iraq resulting in the deaths of innocent Iraqis.

“3. Blackwater created and fostered a culture of lawlessness amongst its employees, encouraging them to act in the company’s financial interests at the expense of innocent human life. This action seeks compensatory damages to compensate the family of Mr. Albazzaz, who was gunned down and killed by Blackwater shooters. This action seeks punitive damages in an amount sufficient to punish Erik Prince and his Blackwater companies for their repeated callous killing of innocents. […]

“4. Plaintiff is the Estate of Ali Hussamaldeen Ibrahim Albazzaz. Mr. Albazzaz was a resident of Baghdad until he was shot to death by Blackwater shooters on September 9, 2007. He was the father of a newborn baby daughter. […]

“18. On or about September 9, 2007, Blackwater shooters shot, without justification, and killed five innocent civilians, including Ali Hussamaldeen Ibrahim Albazzaz, in and around Al Watahba Square. Mr. Albazzaz was standing outside his rug store near Al Watahba Square when he was gunned down by Blackwater shooters. Numerous other innocent civilians were killed and injured in the incident.

“19. Blackwater is responsible for the reckless actions of its heavily-armed shooters acting in Iraq. The identities of the Blackwater shooters who killed and injured innocent persons on September 9, 2007, are known to Blackwater and able to be discovered in this litigation. […]”

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