KBR KBR The Act "establishes a uniform, federal compensation scheme for civilian contractors and their employees for injuries sustained" while working abroad under a contract with the United States. The term "suggests that [the combatant-activities] immunity is quite broad." Finding no error in the district court's denial, we affirm. (Id. Carter asserts that these holdings would compel a court, sitting after the FCA's limitations period has run, to dismiss a relator's timely FCA action brought during the pendency of a then-pending, but since-dismissed, related action, and thereby expose the relator (if he or she sought to file a new complaint) to statute of limitations problems that the relator otherwise would not face. 3730(b)(5). (Docket Entry No. 2002) (citing 28 U.S.C. KBR is a signatory to the LOGCAP IV contract, (Docket Entry No. "A party may remove an action from state court to federal court if the action is one over which the federal court possesses subject matter jurisdiction." KBR 2d at 702, 71213 ; maintained "electrical systems at a barracks in an active war," Harris , 724 F.3d at 481 ; performed waste-management and water treatment functions to aid military personnel in a combat area, Burn Pit Litig. Fisher , 667 F.3d at 610. In the course of reaching this holding, however, the Court contrasted the seal requirement with the first-to-file rule, which the Court described as one of a number of [FCA] provisions that do require, in express terms, the dismissal of a relator's action. Id. Chovanec v. Apria Healthcare Group, Inc., 606 F.3d 361, 362 (7th Cir. Each step is examined below. The Third, Fourth, and D.C. 1441(a) ). 25-2). Defendant Service Employees International, Inc. ("SEI"), is a corporation organized under the laws of the Cayman Islands with its principal place of business in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. The plaintiffs sued KBR in Texas state court for negligence and gross negligence, alleging that KBR was "aware of the heightened risk of a strike in the face of escalating regional violence," but "left [the] Plaintiffs and the other employees of Service Employees International at the base, in direct risk of substantial harm." , 744 F.3d 326, 348 (4th Cir. We cannot support Carter's reading. , 744 F.3d at 349. WebThe Service Employees International Union (SEIU) is a socialist, politically powerful labor union with 2 million members in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico, and the largest (Docket Entry No. The district court dismissed relator Benjamin Carter's (Relator) False Claims Act complaint against Defendant Halliburton Co., and several of its subsidiaries, on grounds that at least two related actions were pending at the time Relator filed his original complaint. The present record does not make clear what work the plaintiffs did or what services they provided at the Al Asad base. We clarified, however, that once a case is no longer pending the first-to-file bar does not stop a relator from filing a related case. Id. 1955 ). The insurgents attacked the plaintiffs willfully; the insurgents were third persons; the attacks were directed against the plaintiffs because of their employment as government contractors "driving trucks in support of the American coalition's rebuilding and security efforts in Iraq"; and the attack was the "direct cause" of the plaintiffs injuries. Harris , 724 F.3d at 479 ; see also Burn Pit Litig. Appellees Halliburton Company; Kellogg Brown & Root Services, Inc.; KBR, Inc.; and Service Employees International, Inc. (collectively, KBR), are a group of defense The plaintiffs position is that the Defense Base Act does not apply because they did not have a direct employment relationship with KBR. Section 1442(a) permits "any officer of the United States or person acting under [him or her]," 28 U.S.C. Although the present record is insufficient for the court to determine whether either or both defenses apply, KBR has asserted a colorable basis to infer that one or both may preempt the plaintiffs claims. Despite Carter's objections, the district court on remand invoked the first-to-file rule and dismissed the Carter Action without prejudice. at 616, 617 ("We think it self-evident that driving trucks in Iraq in support of United States military operations augmented the probability that Plaintiffs would fall victim to an attack by insurgent forces, and that the character of Plaintiffs employmentproviding support services to an occupying military forceincreased the likelihood that Plaintiffs would be targeted by forces opposed to the United States presence in Iraq in 2004."). 3d 358, 37374 (E.D. Transcript : KBR, Inc., Q1 2023 Earnings Call, May 01, 2023 2013) (It is well-established that parties cannot amend their complaint through briefing or oral advocacy.). KBR subsequently petitioned the Supreme Court for certiorari. "); Ruppel , 701 F.3d at 1181 (" Acting under covers situations, like this one, where the federal government uses a private corporation to achieve an end it would have otherwise used its own agents to complete."). Financial Highlights for the Quarter Ended March 31, 2023. 2001). The False Claims Act's first-to-file bar provides that [w]hen a person brings an action under [the False Claims Act], no person other than the Government may intervene or bring a related action based on the facts underlying the pending action. 31 U.S.C. 1-5 at 12). APPLICATION OF PLAINTIFF FOR AN EXTENSION OF TIME TO FILE A PETITION FOR A WRIT OF CERTIORARI TO THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE I, David S. Stone, counsel for Petitioner, certify that on this I 61h day of KBR The declaration, however, does not make clear whether the plaintiffs and Service Employees International performed the same functions as KBR. at 5.29, 5.34). See State Farm Fire & Cas. This arrangement, Carter contends, conflicts with the Supreme Court's apparent policy preference for interpretations of the FCA that facilitate government recoveries. Your download is being prepared. 1948) ; Burn Pit Litig. ). at 610. The third prong is also met. State tort law significantly conflicts with this unique federal interest when the military has at least some control over the military contractor's allegedly tortious actions. Halliburton Company is a publicly traded corporation and has no parent company. 959, 103 L.Ed.2d 99 (1989). Courts look to contract terms, Aiello , 751 F. Supp. Id. 1-5 at 4). Facts that may arise after the commencement of a relator's action, such as the dismissals of earlier-filed, related actions pending at the time the relator brought his or her action, do not factor into this analysis. The court reiterated its view that the date that an action is brought is dispositive in a first-to-file analysis, and concluded that the fact that the Maryland and Texas Actions were both still pending on the date the complaint in the Carter Action was filed rendered the Carter Action precluded by the first-to-file rule. SEI is an employment company that hires employees who perform work abroad under contracts awarded by various clients to KBR-related companies. Unfortunately, KBR decided to ignore the unambiguous threats of retaliation levied by Iran following the death of General Qassem Soleimani. 2012) ("We liberally construe this term."). KBR did not clarify the relationship among KBR, Service Employees International, and the LOGCAP IV contract. WebLaw360, New York (October 31, 2011, 9:24 PM EDT) -- A former Service Employees International Inc. operations specialist on Friday sued Service Employees and defense Because the record supports federal jurisdiction, remand is denied. United States ex rel. Id. We held that Carter did not properly preserve the issue of equitable tolling, and so we summarily affirmed the district court's refusal to equitably toll the statute of limitations. This contention does not withstand scrutiny. About KBR KBR is a global engineering, construction and services company supporting the energy, hydrocarbons, power, industrial, civil infrastructure, minerals, Va. filed June 2, 2011). The lead-up to Carter's second-quoted statement confirms that the Court was only using the description live to mean not time-barred. See id. Were proud of our company and our work, and we would be happy to tell you more about it. For 100 years, KBR has been part of some of the worlds most influential achievements. WebBixby et al v. KBR, Inc. et al, No. The court explained that Carter's proposed amendment could not change the fact that the Carter Action was brought in violation of the first-to-file rule. Fisher , 703 F. Supp. Finally, the court explained that neither the Wartime Suspension and Limitations Act (WSLA) nor the principle of equitable tolling could toll the statute of limitations on the Carter Action's claims. WebSERVICE EMPLOYEES INTERNATIONAL, INCORPORATED and INSURANCE COMPANY OF THE STATE OF PENNSYLVANIA Employer/Carrier- Respondents Associates, Inc., 380 U.S. 359 (1965). See Fisher , 667 F.3d at 610 ; see also Garcia v. Amfels, Inc. , 254 F.3d 585, 588 (5th Cir. WebKBR holds all leaders and employees to the highest standards of business and personal integrity, abiding by the strictest ethical and legal standards. "To determine whether jurisdiction is present for removal," the court considers "the claims in the state court petition as they existed at the time of removal." Under the employment agreement, Rogers agreed to submit any claims to arbitration in accordance with the Halliburton Dispute Resolution Program In the Supreme Court of the United States - oregonlive 2017); United States ex rel. Ashcroft v. Iqbal , 556 U.S. 662, 678, 129 S.Ct. Saleh v. Titan Corp. , 580 F.3d 1, 7 (D.C. Cir. {Kbr In Iraq} Work Values Interested in finding out if you are the type of person this company is looking for? We disagree. 1955, 167 L.Ed.2d 929 (2007). KBR, Inc. (KBR) Q1 2023 Earnings Call Transcript The record reveals little other information about the work the plaintiffs performed at the Al Asad base, or about what level of discretion Service Employees International had over that work. 2000) (en banc) ([B]rought and bring refer to the filing or commencement of a lawsuit, not to its continuation.); Chandler v. D.C. Dep't of Corr., 145 F.3d 1355, 1359 (D.C. Cir. Stay up-to-date with how the law affects your life. I received a letter listing my income Ask an Expert Tax Questions I work in Iraq for KBR and The Defense Base Act is "liberally construed," Voris v. Eikel , 346 U.S. 328, 333, 74 S.Ct. Change the World! 1. 2012). Third, courts determine whether the "private service contractor [was] integrated into combatant activities over which the military retains command authority." WebService Employee International,Inc. at 21 n.8a question that has divided district courts in this circuit and around the country, see United States ex rel. However, the Maryland Action was dismissed in October 2011, and the Texas Action was dismissed in March 2012. 2005) ; Carr v. Lockheed Martin Tech. WebCareers at KBR | KBR job opportunities Belong. The main See United States ex rel. v. ASARCO LLC, 135 S. Ct. 2158, 2169 (2015) (internal quotation marks omitted). at 5960. WebKBR Technical Services, Inc., Overseas Administration Services, Ltd., and Service Employees International, Inc. (collectively, the "KBR defendants"), on June 8, 2009. Kellogg has no direct employees. Because we need not do so, we decline to comment on the other reasons the district court identified as justifying its rejection of Carter's effort to circumvent dismissal through amendment. Paul Papak OPINION AND Financial Highlights for the Quarter Ended March 31, 2023. at 60); United States ex rel. at 1978. Carter v. Halliburton Co. (Carter II), 710 F.3d 171, 17476 (4th Cir. In June 2011, Carter filed a qui tam complaint against KBR in the Eastern District of Virginia. I agree with the majority opinion's conclusion that the dismissal of all earlier-filed, related actions does not, by operation of law, lift the first-to-file bar on a later-filed action. The denial of the motion to dismiss is without prejudice to the defendant's ability to reurge the arguments, if appropriate, in a motion for summary judgment, after discovery targeted and limited to the Defense Base Act and combatant-activity defenses.
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