Helvenston v. Blackwater Security

Last updated
Helvenston et al. v. Blackwater Security
Keywords
Breach of contract, public policy, wrongful death

Helvenston et al. v. Blackwater Security is the lawsuit for wrongful death filed by the families of the four contractors for Blackwater Security (since renamed Academi) killed in the 31 March 2004 Fallujah ambush. [1] The families of the four men, led by Scott Helvenston's mother Katy Helvenston-Wettengel and Donna Zovko, Jerry Zovko's mother, filed suit against Blackwater with lawyer Daniel Callahan on January 5, 2005. Blackwater countersued for $10 million in December 2006, claiming breach of contract provisions that forbade any suit against the company. In January 2011, U.S. district judge James C. Fox dismissed the suit after no progress was made in court-ordered arbitration. [2] [3]

Contents

Facts and allegations

The Blackwater contract with Regency Hotel and Hospitality Company and Eurest Support Services called for at least three men per vehicle on security missions "with a minimum of two armored vehicles to support ESS movements." [4] In addition, the contract called for a minimum of three-man teams in two vehicles (for a total of six men), with a heavily armed rear gunner and time before any mission to review the route and conduct a risk assessment and pre-trip inspection. [5] Blackwater signed a revised contract with Regency on March 12, 2004, that removed the word "armored".

The suit alleges that Blackwater trainer Justin "Shrek" McQuown resented Helvenston and deliberately reassigned Helvenston to the team that was ambushed. The suit further alleges that McQuown intervened and ordered only a four-man team be sent, although six were available, the other two remaining to perform clerical duties. [6] The suit alleges that Blackwater repeatedly made decisions in order to save money that made the deaths of the contractors more likely. These alleged decisions include not buying armored vehicles to save $1.5 million and removing the employee, John Potter, who complained about that action; and violating the contract by not sending out a six-man team [5] with two armored vehicles. [7] Blackwater "countered that the men were betrayed by the Iraqi Civil Defense Corps and targeted in a well-planned ambush" and argued that "the ambush likely would have had the same result even if they had stronger weapons, armored vehicles, maps or even more men." [8]

In December 2006, the families' attorney was sued for $10 million by Blackwater, who argued that the families had breached the security guards' contracts by suing the company for wrongful death. [9]

Judgment

In January 2011, U.S. district judge James C. Fox dismissed the suit after no progress was made in court-ordered arbitration. The plaintiffs announced they would appeal the ruling. [10]

Early in January 2012, a federal appeals court ended the lawsuit with the families of the victims reaching a confidential settlement from the company. [8]

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ Iraqis revoke license of Blackwater security company - International Herald Tribune
  2. ↑ Baker, Mike, (Associated Press), "Blackwater Death Suit Tossed After Six Years", Washington Post , 26 January 2011, p. 4.
  3. ↑ "Mothers Say Mistakes Led to Fallujah Tragedy". Primetime, ABC News. April 7, 2005.
  4. ↑ Jones, Terry (June 12, 2007). "A true land of opportunity". The Guardian. London. Retrieved May 4, 2010.
  5. 1 2 "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2007-09-26. Retrieved 2007-09-24.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  6. ↑ Blood Is Thicker Than Blackwater - Nations and States - Global Policy Forum
  7. ↑ newsobserver.com | Security company broke own rules
  8. 1 2 Dalesio, Emery (6 January 2012). "Blackwater suit ends 7 years after Fallujah deaths". Boston Globe. NY Times Co. Retrieved 24 January 2012.
  9. ↑ Iraq Security Contractor Countersues Washington Post, January 19, 2007
  10. ↑ Baker, Mike, (Associated Press), "Blackwater Death Suit Tossed After Six Years", Washington Post , 26 January 2011, p. 4.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Private military company</span> Company providing armed combat or security services

A private military company (PMC) or private military and security company (PMSC) is a private company providing armed combat or security services for financial gain. PMCs refer to their personnel as "security contractors" or "private military contractors".

Academi, formerly known as Blackwater, is an American private military contractor founded on December 26, 1996, by former Navy SEAL officer Erik Prince. It was renamed Xe Services in 2009, and was again renamed to Academi in 2011, after it was acquired by a group of private investors. In 2014, Academi merged with Triple Canopy to form Constellis Holdings.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">First Battle of Fallujah</span> Operation of the Iraq War

The First Battle of Fallujah, code-named Operation Vigilant Resolve, was an operation against militants in Fallujah as well as an attempt to apprehend or kill the perpetrators of the killing of four U.S. contractors in March 2004.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Second Battle of Fallujah</span> 2004 battle of the Iraq War

The Second Battle of Fallujah, initially codenamed Operation Phantom Fury,Operation al-Fajr was an American-led offensive of the Iraq War that lasted roughly six weeks, starting 7 November 2004. Marking the highest point of the conflict against the Iraqi insurgency, it was a joint military effort carried out by the United States, the Iraqi Interim Government, and the United Kingdom. Within the city of Fallujah, the coalition was led by the U.S. Marine Corps and U.S. Army, the battle was later described as "some of the heaviest urban combat U.S. military have been involved in since the Battle of Huế City in Vietnam in 1968".

Stephen "Scott" Helvenston was a United States Navy SEAL. He was working as a security contractor for Blackwater Security when he was killed in the 31 March 2004 Fallujah ambush within days of arriving in Iraq.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fallujah during the Iraq War</span> American bombardment of Fallujah, Iraq

The United States bombardment of Fallujah began in April 2003, one month after the beginning of the invasion of Iraq. In April 2003 United States forces fired on a group of demonstrators who were protesting against the US presence. US forces alleged they were fired at first, but Human Rights Watch, who visited the site of the protests, concluded that physical evidence did not corroborate US allegations and confirmed the residents' accusations that the US forces fired indiscriminately at the crowd with no provocation. 17 people were killed and 70 were wounded. In a later incident, US soldiers fired on protesters again; Fallujah's mayor, Taha Bedaiwi al-Alwani, said that two people were killed and 14 wounded. Iraqi insurgents were able to claim the city a year later, before they were ousted by a siege and two assaults by US forces. These events caused widespread destruction and a humanitarian crisis in the city and surrounding areas. As of 2004, the city was largely ruined, with 60% of buildings damaged or destroyed, and the population at 30%–50% of pre-war levels.

Eurest Support Services (ESS) is a subsidiary of the catering company Compass Group PLC specializing in harsh-environment large-scale food service and facilities management. Its primary clients are military forces and other security services, major defense contractors, and construction, mining, and oil exploration and production facilities worldwide.

<i>Iraq for Sale: The War Profiteers</i> 2006 American film

Iraq for Sale: The War Profiteers is a 2006 documentary film made by Robert Greenwald and Brave New Films. Produced while the Iraq War was in full swing, the film deals with the alleged war profiteering and negligence of private contractors and consultants who went to Iraq as part of the US war effort.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2004 Iraq spring fighting</span> Engagements during the Iraq War

The 2004 Iraq spring fighting was a series of operational offensives and various major engagements during the Iraq War. It was a turning point in the war; the Spring Fighting marked the entrance into the conflict of militias and religiously based militant Iraqi groups, such as the Shi'a Mahdi Army.

<i>Blackwater: The Rise of the Worlds Most Powerful Mercenary Army</i> 2007 non-fiction book

Blackwater: The Rise of the World's Most Powerful Mercenary Army is a book written by independent journalist Jeremy Scahill, published by Nation Books in 2007, as a history and analysis of Blackwater USA, now called Academi. It won one of the 2007 George Polk Awards.

The 2004 Fallujah Blackwater incident occurred on March 31, 2004, when Iraqi insurgents attacked a convoy containing four American contractors from the private military company Blackwater USA who were conducting a delivery for food caterers ESS.

Coalition Provisional Authority Order 17 stated that Iraqi laws do not hold over contractors.

The Nisour Square massacre occurred on September 16, 2007, when employees of Blackwater Security Consulting, a private military company contracted by the US government to provide security services in Iraq, shot at Iraqi civilians, killing 17 and injuring 20 in Nisour Square, Baghdad, while escorting a U.S. embassy convoy. The killings outraged Iraqis and strained relations between Iraq and the United States. In 2014, four Blackwater employees were tried and convicted in U.S. federal court; one of murder, and the other three of manslaughter and firearms charges; all four convicted were controversially pardoned by President Donald Trump in December 2020. U.N. experts said the pardons "violate U.S. obligations under international law and more broadly undermine humanitarian law and human rights at a global level”.

<i>Abtan v. Blackwater</i>

Atban v. Blackwater, 611 F. Supp. 2d 1, was a lawsuit brought by the victims and families affected by the September 16, 2007 Blackwater Baghdad shootings against Blackwater Worldwide, a private military contractor since renamed Academi. The case was consolidated with Estate of Albazzaz, et al. v. Blackwater Lodge and Training Center, Inc. et al., and the consolidated case was ultimately settled confidentially out of court.

<i>The Road to Fallujah</i> 2009 American film

The Road to Fallujah is a 2009 American documentary film directed by Mark Manning and written by Manning and Natalie Kalustian.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2004 Good Friday ambush</span> Attack on US troops by insurgents

The 2004 Good Friday ambush was an attack by Iraqi insurgents on April 9, 2004 during the Iraq War on a convoy of U.S. supply trucks during the Battle of Baghdad International Airport. It happened in the midst of the Iraq spring fighting of 2004, which saw intensified clashes throughout the country.

Susan L. Burke is an American lawyer noted for her work to reform the military system of prosecuting rape and assault and in representing plaintiffs suing the American military or military contractors, such as the Abtan v. Blackwater case. She represented former detainees of Abu Ghraib prison in a suit against interrogators and translators from CACI and Titan Corp. who were tasked with obtaining military intelligence from them during their detention. Her work was featured in the documentaries The Invisible War and Ghosts of Abu Ghraib. In 2015, the National Law Journal named Burke one of the top 75 female attorneys in the nation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Triple Canopy</span> American security contractor

Triple Canopy, Inc., is an American private security company that provides integrated security, mission support and risk management services to corporate, government and nonprofit clients. The firm was founded in May 2003 by United States Army Special Forces veterans, including former Delta Force operators. In June 2014, the firm merged with rival security contracting firm Academi, formerly Blackwater, to form Constellis Group, with Craig Nixon, the former CEO of Academi, becoming the CEO of Constellis Group, and training facilities being consolidated at the existing Academi training facility in North Carolina. It was staffed by, among others, a number of former Army Special Operations personnel, Green Berets, Rangers, SEALs, MARSOC Raiders, other special operations personnel, and several law enforcement officers. At the time of the merger, over 5,000 employees were working for Triple Canopy.

Ahmad Hashim Abd al-Isawi was an al Qaeda terrorist operating in Iraq in the early 2000s. He allegedly masterminded the ambush and killing of four American military contractors whose bodies were then dragged by a spontaneously formed mob and hung from the old bridge over the Euphrates river in Fallujah, Iraq. In September 2009, a team of U.S. Navy SEALs captured al-Isawi in a nighttime raid in Fallujah, and he was charged with orchestrating the slayings. He was held for a time by the United States intelligence community and accused some of the SEALs who captured him of mistreating him while detained at Camp Schwedler. al-Isawi was subsequently handed over to Iraqi authorities and was awaiting his own trial when he testified at one of the resulting 2010 courts-martial. His own trial was held some time before November 2013, and al-Isawi was executed by hanging for the killings.

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.