Lawyers Argue Blackwater Deaths Lawsuit Belongs in Federal Court

Attorneys for a security contractor argued in a federal court have said that the state courts of North Carolina aren’t the proper place for a wrongful death lawsuit filed by the survivors of four former employees killed and mutilated in Iraq.

Blackwater Security Consulting, based in Moyock, N.C., contends the federal courts should consider the case because of a federal workman’s compensation law it believes applies to civilian employees working overseas for the government. The law bars lawsuits and entitles the men’s dependents only to payments of $1,100 weekly apiece.

North Carolina courts allow financial compensation in wrongful death lawsuits.

The slayings of contractors Wesley J.K. Batalona, Stephen “Scott”
Helvenston, Michael R. Teague and Jerko “Jerry” Zovko in March 2004 made worldwide headlines. Frenzied crowds dragged the men’s charred bodies through the streets of Fallujah and strung two of them up from a bridge.

The families sued the company in state court in January 2005, alleging Blackwater cut corners that led to the deaths. The suit said the workers were sent into Fallujah without proper equipment and personnel to defend the supply convoy they were guarding.

A federal judge ruled in August that a North Carolina court should hear the lawsuit, but Blackwater quickly moved to have the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals reconsider the opinion.

The appeals court could agree that it belongs in state court, decide to send it back to the federal judge or order her to dismiss the case. A decision isn’t expected for at least a few weeks.