(KBR) Electrocution case to go forward, judge reaffirms

[sabra]

Source: Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

A federal judge yesterday denied a request by an Army contractor to allow the company to file an appeal before the lawsuit is even heard in court.

KBR filed a motion with U.S. District Judge Nora Barry Fischer asking her to amend a March order that will allow the case to move forward; the order prevented an appeal during the course of the case. The contractor wanted her to change that order to allow it to appeal her decision on a motion for dismissal to the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

KBR is being sued by the parents of Staff Sgt. Ryan Maseth, of Shaler, who was electrocuted in the shower on Jan. 2, 2008, in Iraq. In a motion to dismiss, KBR argued that the lawsuit was inappropriate because it would cause the court to review military operations. However, Judge Fischer disagreed and gave permission for the lawsuit to proceed.

Sgt. Maseth's parents accuse KBR of failing to maintain the electrical infrastructure at the palace complex where he was staying.

Read more: http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09121/966850-54.stm

[joeybee12]

1. I hope they get a fortune from these thugs...

...they were ripping off the American taxpayer...all part of the whole Iraq scam.

[RamboLiberal]

2. Earlier in week another ruling against KBR

Lawyers try to force Army contractor exec to be deposed in suit
Tuesday, April 28, 2009

By Paula Reed Ward, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

An executive of an Army contractor that has been sued for wrongful death in federal court can't have it both ways, say attorneys seeking to compel his deposition.

He can't assert on a newspaper editorial page that his company -- KBR -- had nothing to do with the electrocution death of a soldier in the shower in Iraq, and then claim he has no knowledge of the incident.

Attorneys who represent the parents of Staff Sgt. Ryan Maseth filed a motion in federal court yesterday asking a judge to order William C. Bodie, KBR interim president for government and infrastructure, to testify in the case.

Mr. Bodie wrote a rebuttal piece in the Post-Gazette earlier this month, claiming that KBR had nothing to do with Sgt. Maseth's death at Radwaniyah Palace in Baghdad.

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09118/965982-54.stm

Also kudos to my Senator Bob Casey who's been instrumental in helping the Maseth's mother pursue this case.