U.S. Judge Sends Blackwater Suit to N.C.
U.S. Judge Sends Blackwater Suit to N.C.: "August 15, 2005; 9:45 PM
RALEIGH, N.C. -- A federal judge has ruled that a North Carolina court should hear a lawsuit accusing a security firm based in the state of wrongful death in the brutal slayings of four guards in Iraq.
Plaintiffs' attorneys considered the ruling a victory for survivors of the guards, who had been contracted by Blackwater Security Consulting. North Carolina allows financial compensation in wrongful death lawsuits.
The killings 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 guards' families sued the company in state court in January, alleging Blackwater cut corners that led to the men's deaths. The suit said the workers were sent into Fallujah without proper equipment and personnel to defend the supply convoy they were guarding."
