(The Center Square) – The U.S. Supreme Court agreed Monday to review a case filed by a Georgia veteran against a contractor over a 2016 suicide bombing.
Winston Hencely of Effingham County was hurt in the attack that killed five people and injured 17. Hencely lost the use of his left hand, left side and face and also has permanent brain injuries, according to the lawsuit.
The attack happened as soldiers gathered for a Veterans Day 5K race. Hencely was hailed a hero in an investigation of the attack and saved “countless lives,” according to the lawsuit. The attacker was identified as Ahmad Nayeb, an Afghan hired by Fluor Corp.
“The U.S. Army investigated and found that failures by Fluor, a government contractor, within areas of its responsibility were ‘the primary contributing factor’ to the bombing,” Hencley attorneys said in their filing with the Supreme Court. “Fluor’s supervision failures enabled Nayeb to build the bomb on the job at Fluor’s jobsite inside the base with Fluor’s own components and tools. Fluor also violated military instructions to keep Afghans in close view while escorting them off base.”
Fluor’s attorneys blamed the U.S. Army in its response, saying officials knew that Nayeb had former ties to the Taliban and did not tell the company.
“In March 2016, the military conducted a counterintelligence screening of Nayeb,” the attorneys said in their brief. “During that interview, the military found that Nayeb’s answers were “trained and coached.” Despite noting this red flag, the military chose not to expel Nayeb. The military again failed to warn Fluor of Nayeb’s terrorist ties and suspicious behavior.”
The question before the Supreme Court is if Fluor is exempt from being sued based on language in the Federal Torts Claims Act that gives the government immunity from combatant activities during war. Lower courts have sided with the company.
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton joined other attorneys general in a brief with the U.S. Supreme Court supporting Hencely.
“The brave people who serve our country like Winston Hencely deserve justice when harmed by the reckless actions of military contractors,” Paxton said in an April release. “The Fluor Corp.’s inaction negligently endangered American soldiers, and the Fourth Circuit inexplicably ignored federal law in an attempt to shield the contractor from accountability.”
The Veterans of Foreign Wars and Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America also filed briefs backing Hencely.
The Center Square was unsuccessful prior to publication of getting comment from Fluor’s attorneys, Covington and Burling.
