The Oregon Qarmat Ali Vets’ case, Bixby v. KBR, continues. A group of 12 of these veterans won a stunning $85 million verdict against KBR for toxic harms suffered in Iraq at a KBR- contaminated site. After the verdict, and while the case was on KBR’s slow-track appeal, the… Continue Reading →
It’s a good day for the Oregon Qarmat Ali veterans. Today, the Court confirmed the jury verdict in favor of the first 12 Oregon Army National Guard veterans who suffered contamination injuries at the Qarmat Ali Water Treatment Plant in Iraq in 2003. Here is a link to the PDF… Continue Reading →
Today, Judge Papak issued another summary judgment opinion denying KBR’s motions for summary judgment on fraud and negligence. Here is a PDF copy: 512 – opinion & order – fraud and neglig It’s a long opinion, but it provides a really clear view of some of the information that… Continue Reading →
Yesterday in our Qarmat Ali Vets case against KBR, we filed a motion for sanctions. The filing is here (pdf). The Memorandum (toward the bottom) lays it out in detail. Turns out that KBR concealed critically-important information about the Qarmat Ali Water Treatment Plant and its extreme level of… Continue Reading →
So here is what is happening in my law office today, Veteran’s Day, 2011: Kevin Stanger is giving a deposition in Bixby v. KBR, the case in U.S. District Court here in Oregon where veterans dare to call corporate giant KBR to account. Mr. Stanger is one of the vets… Continue Reading →
The Inspector General of the Department of Defense released its long-awaited final report Exposure to Sodium Dichromate at Qarmat Alli Iraq in 2003: Part II Evaluation of Army and Contractor Actions Report No. SPO-2011-009 (September 28, 2011). Here is the current report: Part II Qarmat Ali FINAL Report Sept… Continue Reading →
Ten years after the 9/11 tragedy, I am thinking today of the first responders and veterans who volunteered for service. They did so understanding the dangers and the risks, and they did so as a matter of duty and conscience. In answering the call, they put themselves in harm’s way. Continue Reading →
In today’s Oregonian, Julie Sullivan (aka “the one-woman wrecking crew”) reports here on emerging details of KBR’s request for a taxpayer bailout. Short version is that as revealed by depositions taken in our Oregon Army National Guard toxic injury case, Bixby v. KBR, KBR… Continue Reading →
In today’s Oregonian, Julie Sullivan reports here about a document provided to the soldiers in discovery that is one of those classic smoking guns. In our case, Bixby v. KBR, KBR and Halliburton claim that they didn’t know about the sodium dichromate until late July or August, they claim… Continue Reading →
I’m not a flag waver. Never have been. Like the vast majority of Americans, I have treated Veterans Day as one of those days in the fall that I might have off from work. No thought to the meaning; no thought to the sacrifices that lie beneath. That changed in… Continue Reading →