Abtan, et al. v. Blackwater Lodge and Training Center, Inc., et al.

Synopsis

Estate of Himoud Saed Abtan, et al. v. Blackwater Lodge and Training Center, Inc., et al. is a civil case filed in the District Court for the District of Columbia against notorious private government contractor Blackwater.  The case was brought by those injured and the families of those killed following the Nisoor Square shooting on September 16, 2007.

Status

On March 28, 2008, Judge Reggie Walton ordered that this case be consolidated with Estate of Albazzaz, et al. v. Blackwater Lodge and Training Center, Inc. et al. for purposes of pre-trial discovery and briefing.

Description

Estate of Himoud Saed Abtan, et al. v. Blackwater Lodge and Training Center, Inc., et al. was filed against Blackwater, the private military contractor whose heavily armed personnel opened fire on Iraqi civilians in Nisoor Square in Baghdad on September 16, 2007. The defendants include Blackwater Lodge and Training Center, Inc., Blackwater Security Consulting LLC, Blackwater Armor and Targets LLC, Blackwater Airships LLC, Blackwater Logistics LLC, Raven Development Group LLC, Greystone Limited, The Prince Group LLC, EP Investments LLC, and Blackwater founder Erik Prince. 

The case was initially filed on behalf of Talib Mutlaq Deewan, an Iraqi civilian who was injured by Blackwater personnel during the incident, and the families of three deceased men – Himoud Saed Abtan, Usama Fadhil Abbass, and Oday Ismail Ibraheem. Subsequent amendments of the complaint joined the family of another Iraqi civilian who was killed, Ali Khaleel, and nine additional Iraqis who were injured, Mahdi Abdulkhudhir Abbass, Sami Hawas Hamood, Fereed Waleed Hassoon, Bara’a Sa’adoon Ismael, Sameer Hoobi Jabbar, Abdulameer Rahmeen Jehan, Mahammed Hassan Mahammed, Haider Ahmed Rabe’a and Hassan Jabir Salman.

The lawsuit alleges that Blackwater and its affiliated companies violated U.S.  and international law, and “created and fostered a culture of lawlessness amongst its employees, encouraging them to act in the company’s financial interests at the expense of innocent human life.”

Plaintiffs allege that Blackwater violated the federal Alien Tort Statute (ATS), committing  war crimes, and that Blackwater should be liable for claims of assault and battery, wrongful death, intentional and negligent infliction of emotional distress, and negligent hiring, training and supervision. Plaintiffs also moved to include a claim that Blackwater intentionally destroyed evidence by repainting the vehicles involved in the Nisoor Square massacre and by shredding documents pertaining to the company’s criminal and civil legal exposures.

The lawsuit seeks compensatory damages for death, physical, mental, and economic injuries as well as intentional and willful destruction of evidence, as well as punitive damages.

The injured civilians and the families of four victims of the Nisoor Square shooting are represented by Susan L. Burke, William T. O’Neil, Elizabeth M. Burke, and Katherine R. Hawkins of Burke O’Neil LLC, of Philadelphia; Michael A. Ratner and Katherine Gallagher, of the Center for Constitutional Rights, of New York; and Shereef Hadi Akeel, of Akeel & Valentine, P.C., of Birmingham, Mich.

Timeline

On October 11, 2007, the case was filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.

On November 27, 2007 , an amended complaint was filed that added the families of two Iraqis who had been killed and another injured survivor to the list of plaintiffs. The amended complaint also alleged that Blackwater routinely deploys heavily-armed “shooters” in the streets of Baghdad with the knowledge that up to 25 percent of them are chemically influenced by steroids or other judgment-altering substances, and fails to take effective steps to stop and test for drug use.  It further alleged that the Blackwater personnel who fired on the Iraqi civilians had ignored directives from the Tactical Operations Center (“TOC”), which was manned by both Blackwater and Department of State personnel, to stay in another area with State Department personnel they had dropped off until further instructed to leave the area.

Also on March 28, 2008, a second amended complaint was filed to join the family of an additional Iraqi who had been killed as well as nine additional injured Iraqi survivors. On April 8, 2008 the defendants filed a motion to dismiss for lack of venue, to which the plaintiffs filed an opposition on April 22, 2008.

On March 28, 2008, Judge Walton ordered that this case be consolidated with Estate of Albazzaz, et al. v. Blackwater Lodge and Training Center, Inc. et al. for purposes of pre-trial discovery and briefing.

On April 28, 2008, plaintiffs filed a motion to file a third amended complaint in order to include a spoliation claims.  On May 7, 2008, defendants filed their opposition to this motion to amend the complaint, to which the plaintiffs filed a reply on May 19, 2008.

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