Judge Refuses to Dismiss War Crimes Case Against Blackwater

[kpete]

Source: The Nation

Judge Refuses to Dismiss War Crimes Case Against Blackwater
By Jeremy Scahill

October 22, 2009

On Wednesday, a federal judge rejected a series of arguments by lawyers for the mercenary firm formerly known as Blackwater seeking to dismiss five high-stakes war crimes cases brought by Iraqi victims against both the company and its owner, Erik Prince. At the same time, Judge TS Ellis III sent the Iraqis' lawyers back to the legal drawing board to amend and refile their cases, saying that the Iraqi plaintiffs need to provide more specific details on the alleged crimes before a final decision can be made on whether or not the lawsuits will proceed.

"We were very pleased with the ruling," says Susan Burke, the lead attorney for the Iraqis. Burke, who filed the lawsuits in cooperation with the Center for Constitutional Rights, is now preparing to re-file the suits. Blackwater's spokesperson Stacy DeLuke said, "We are confident that will not be able to meet the high standard specified in Judge Ellis' opinion."

Ellis's ruling was not necessarily a response to faulty pleadings by the Iraqis' lawyers, but rather appears to be the result of a Supreme Court decision that came down after the Blackwater cases were originally filed. In a 5-4 ruling in May 2009 in Ashcroft v. Iqbal, the court reversed decades of case law and imposed much more stringent standards for plaintiffs' to document facts before going to trial. According to Ellis's ruling, which cites Iqbal, the Iraqis must now file complaints that meet these new standards.

Judge Ellis, a Reagan appointee with a mixed record on national security issues, rejected several of the central arguments Blackwater made in its motion to dismiss, namely the company's contention that it cannot be sued by the Iraqis under US law and that the company should not be subjected to potential punitive damages in the cases. The Iraqi victims brought their suits under the Alien Tort Statute, which allows for litigation in US courts for violations of fundamental human rights committed overseas by individuals or corporations with a US presence. Ellis said that Blackwater's argument that it cannot be sued under the ATS is "unavailing," adding that corporations and individuals can both be held responsible for crimes and torts. He said bluntly that "claims alleging direct corporate liability for war crimes" are legitimate under the statute.

Read more: http://www.thenation.com/doc/20091109/scahill

(mods-why move this from Latest News?
just asking?
kpete)

[lisa58]

1. that's good news

[Soylent Brice]

2. K&R

[snagglepuss]

3. k and r

[glitch]

4. LBN - good question. K & R

What, is The Nation somehow less reputable than The Washington Post? :rofl:

[Solly Mack]

5. K&R

[Ardent15]

6. k and r

[bobthedrummer]

7. K&R

[Faux pas]

8. e-x-c-e-l-l-e-n-t news! n/t

[redqueen]

9. Well that seems encouraging.

"a mixed record on national security issues"... not so much.

[1776Forever]

10. This is fantastic news! We should never underestimate the damage this war privateer & others did!

The Bush Admin - Cheney et al - must be held responsible! I really think Blackwater is one of the most inhuman and disgraceful agents of our American culture in the history of this nation! Their crimes will keep coming out for years and years from now. This is something that no true patriot of this country can defend!

God help us to try and repair what this kind of war profiteering and killing of innocent people including some of our own citizens has rendered. Blackwater was the baby of Heir Rumsfeld and his vision of this private military run by corporate puppeteers was spawned by the insane creation of the George W. Bush criminals.

[question everything]

11. I don't understand it, either

You always post many news stories on LBN, but it appears that, today, you are having another DUer violating DU rules by stalking you.

[SIMPLYB1980]

12. Good news indeed!

[Anakin Skywalker]

13. Eh Heh Heh Heh! HOLD THEM ACCOUNTABLE!

Rethugs love to claim they like "accountability". In your face, Rethugs!

[tooeyeten]

14. about time

[SIMPLYB1980]

15. Kick.

[Mnemosyne]

16. KnR! n/t

[defendandprotect]

17. Good . . . kick!!