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KBR asks court to toss suits in convoy deaths

NEW ORLEANS — A long-running lawsuit over insurgent ambushes that killed civilian truck drivers in Iraq is back in a federal appeals court.

At issue are lawsuits filed by truckers and their families accusing Halliburton and former subsidiary KBR Inc. of knowingly sending supply convoys into a dangerous area where six KBR drivers were killed and several others were wounded on April 8 and 9, 2004. KBR is now a separate company but remains a defendant.

U.S. District Judge Gray Miller, of Houston, ruled in March 2010 that most of the lawsuits can go to trial, saying it's unclear if the military contractors knowingly sent the convoys into harm's way. Miller dismissed one of the lawsuits.

Halliburton and KBR asked a three-judge panel of the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to toss out the ruling on Thursday. The companies contend that any claims resulting from the attacks are not subject to litigation and are covered instead by the Defense Base Act, a 1941 federal law that provides workers' compensation to civilian employees injured while under contract with defense agencies.

Any compensation under the law would be far less than a potential jury award.

Charles Scarborough, an attorney with the U.S. Justice Department, argued Thursday that there was no evidence that KBR had "specific intent to injure its employees." He said the proper relief for the victims and their families would come through the Defense Base Act.

But plaintiff attorneys argued Thursday that KBR had plenty of warning that insurgent activity would endanger convoys on both days of the attacks - and that the company, and not the military, had the responsibility and authority to decide whether roll the convoys.

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