Two defense industry trade associations – the Professional Services Council and the National Defense Industrial Association – have filed an amicus curiae brief urging the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit to affirm a federal trial court’s dismissal of the “Burn Pit” battlefield contractor litigation. The amicus brief argues that where, as in the Burn Pit litigation, private-party […]
After almost eight years of consolidated, multidistrict, pretrial proceedings—including massive jurisdictional discovery and a succession of dispositive motions and appeals—Judge Roger W. Titus of the U.S. District Court of the District of Maryland on July 19, 2017 dismissed in its entirety the “Burn Pit” toxic-tort multidistrict litigation. The primary defendant, Kellogg Brown & Root Services,
Federal Court Won’t Second-Guess U.S. Military Combat-Zone Decisions Read More »
On May 11, 2017 Lawrence S. Ebner, founder of Capital Appellate Advocacy PLLC, will be moderating a panel discussion on “Handling an Appeal When the Government Is a Party.” The panel, part of the Appellate Advocacy Seminar sponsored by DRI-The Voice of the Defense Bar in New Orleans, will feature Mark S. Chenoweth, General Counsel
The Iraq War is still being fought, but in the federal courts rather than on foreign battlefields. On October 21, 2016, a panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit issued what is probably the most refined and nuanced opinion of any federal court on the question of whether the political question
Abu Ghraib Contractor Still Faces Potential Tort Liability for Alleged Detainee Abuse Read More »
On April 19, 2016, Larry Ebner, along with Robin Conrad, Averil Rothrock, and M.C. Sungaila, presented a Strafford webinar on amiucs brief strategy, preparation, and procedures in the U.S. Supreme Court, federal courts of appeals, and state appellate courts.
Strategic Use of Amicus Briefs in Appellate Advocacy Read More »
In United States ex rel. Beauchamp v. ACADEMI Training Center, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit recently vacated dismissal of a False Claims Act (FCA) qui tam suit on the ground that the trial court improperly applied the Supreme Court’s holding in Rockwell International Corp. v. United States, 549 US 457 (2007).
Fourth Circuit Refines Rockwell Public-Disclosure Bar Analysis Read More »
Law360 “Expert Analysis” by Lawrence S. Ebner & Lisa N. Himes (published Sept. 24, 2015) The Iraq war is still being fought in U.S. courtrooms. Federal courts of appeals and district courts continue to struggle with the fundamental question of whether, or to what extent, government contractors can be held liable under state tort law for
What the Fourth Circuit Will Address in the Abu Ghraib Case Read More »
