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The War Profiteers - War Crimes,
Kidnappings & Torture |
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October 22nd,
2009 - Judge Tosses Lawsuits against Blackwater, now Xe |
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Judge Tosses Lawsuits
against Blackwater, now Xe By Matthew Barakat Associated Press October 22, 2009 A federal judge on Wednesday
tossed out a series of lawsuits filed by alleged Iraqi victims of the
contractor once known as Blackwater USA, but is allowing the plaintiffs to
refile their claims. In a 56-page ruling
Wednesday, U.S. District Judge T.S. Ellis III in Alexandria, Va., dismissed
claims filed by 64 plaintiffs - including the estates of 19 people who died -
who says Blackwater employees engaged in indiscriminate killings and
beatings. The lawsuits also claim the company, now known as Xe,
"fostered a culture of lawlessness" while it held a State
Department contract to protect U.S. diplomats in Iraq. Ellis is allowing most of
the plaintiffs to refile, but only if they will be able to prove that
employees engaged in intentional killings and beatings. He said a pattern of
recklessness or a culture of lawlessness is not enough to sustain an
allegation of war crimes under the federal law that governs the issue, the
Alien Tort Statute. Xe's lawyers had argued that
the lawsuits should be dismissed under any circumstances because the
allegations involve political questions that cannot be resolved by the
judiciary and because private entities cannot be sued under the Alien Tort
Statute. Ellis rejected those arguments. Both sides said they were
pleased with the ruling. Plaintiffs' lawyer Susan Burke said she will refile.
She has said in previous hearings that she will be able to prove that
Blackwater's actions were intentional, not just reckless. Xe spokeswoman Stacy DeLuke
said in a statement that "we are confident that they (plaintiffs) will
not be able to meet the high standard specified in Judge Ellis'
opinion." The ruling comes as a
federal judge in Washington is considering what evidence to allow in a
criminal prosecution of five Blackwater security guards accused of killing 14
unarmed Iraqi civilians in Baghdad in September 2007. External link: http://www.thesunnews.com/606/story/1127476.html |