Because the military made decisions regarding the faulty electrical systems in the housing for soldiers in Iraq, a federal judge ruled that the court cannot delve into the claims of negligence lodged against the contractor, Kellogg, Brown & Root, that maintained the systems.
“In this court’s estimation, the military presence looms large over nearly every aspect of this case,” U.S. District Judge Nora Barry Fischer of the Western District of Pennsylvania said, addressing the application of the non-justiciable political question doctrine, which bars the judiciary from deciding issues that are constitutionally assigned to other branches of government. Although she found that basis sufficient to dismiss the case, she also discussed the combatant activities exception of the Federal Tort Claims Act, which extends tort liability immunity to certain government contractors working in combat zones.
