WASHINGTON, Sept. 9 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Motley Rice
LLC and Burke PLLC are pleased to announce that the U.S. District
Court for the District of Maryland
ruled Wednesday that lawsuits brought by military personnel harmed
by the allegedly negligent actions of defendants KBR, Inc. (NYSE:
KBR); Kellogg, Brown & Root LLC, Kellogg, Brown & Root
Services, Inc., and Halliburton Company may move forward.
The District Court rejected KBR and Halliburton's attempt to
insulate their conduct from judicial scrutiny. Instead, as
explained in the 43-page decision released yesterday afternoon,
there is a "legitimate concern that the judiciary may prematurely
close the doors to soldiers and civilians injured from wartime
logistical activities performed by hired hands allegedly acting
contrary to military-defined strictures."
Forty three lawsuits filed in 42 states across the nation were
consolidated before the Honorable Roger W. Titus for preliminary
proceedings in December 2009. The
lawsuits in In re KBR Inc. Burn Pit Litigation, case number
08-02083, allege that KBR and Halliburton ignored the terms of the
government contracts requiring them to provide safe and
environmentally-sound waste disposal for the troops based in
Iraq and Afghanistan, and instead provided substandard
waste disposal services by disposing of waste in open-air burn
pits. The lawsuits allege that this improper method of waste
disposal caused serious physical injuries including cancer and
permanent respiratory damage to soldiers and civilians.
"This victory moves us another step towards justice for the
brave men and women who honorably served our nation in Iraq and Afghanistan but now are sick and suffering
because of KBR's alleged negligence," said Susan Burke, court-appointed Lead and Liaison
Counsel for the MDL.
"Our clients believed that our civil justice system would
provide a fair opportunity for them to share their knowledge, learn
more and discover the truth surrounding the horrible toxic
exposures from the burn pits. Now we can start proving who
was really responsible," stated Motley Rice co-founder,
Joe Rice.
Read more about the injuries alleged to be linked to the burn
pits at www.burnpitlawsuit.com/injuries.html.
About Motley Rice LLC
Motley Rice is recognized for its willingness to litigate
complex civil cases and challenging occupational and public health,
anti-terrorism and human rights cases, including the landmark 9/11
litigation against terrorist financiers. The firm's experience
taking on large corporations has its roots in the large asbestos
litigation that began in the 1970s and its subsequent fight against
the four largest tobacco manufacturers in the 1990s that resulted
in the largest financial resolution of civil litigation in U.S.
history. With more than 60 attorneys and hundreds of staff, the
firm handles diverse litigation that helps to protect those harmed
by wrongdoing and negligence. Motley Rice LLC is headquartered in
South Carolina, and has additional
offices in Connecticut;
New York; Rhode Island; Washington, D.C.; and West Virginia.
About Burke PLLC
Washington, D.C.-based Burke
PLLC is known not only for its strong history in complex and civil
litigation but also for its commitment to human rights work,
strengths that compliment Motley Rice's experience in human rights
and occupational disease and toxic tort litigation. Most recently,
Burke served as Lead Counsel in five actions brought on behalf of
alleged Abu Ghraib torture victims against CACI and L-3 and as Lead
Counsel in the internationally watched action filed against defense
contractor Blackwater over alleged civilian shootings in
Iraq. Burke's work on the
Blackwater case has been featured in Jeremy
Scahill's best-selling book, "Blackwater: The Rise of the
World's Most Powerful Mercenary Army" and she and her firms'
attorneys were among the first to actively investigate the
potential hazards of open-air burn pits on the health and welfare
of U.S. soldiers and military personnel.
For more information about re KBR Inc. Burn Pit
Litigation contact litigator Joe Rice
(SC) at +1 800.768.4026 or attorney Susan Burke at +1 202.386.9622 or visit
www.motleyrice.com/occupational-disease/burn-pit-litigation.
SOURCE Motley Rice, LLC
Copyright t. 9 PR Newswire