Source: The Hill
by Kimberly Wehle
“On Monday, the Supreme Court heard oral arguments in Hencely v. Fluor Corporation, a case that asks whether private military contractors can be held liable in state court for negligence and other violations of law, or whether they are immune from lawsuits brought by people they injure. Its outcome could signal how the current majority feels about deputizing private actors with federal immunity even if they engage in blatantly illegal acts. … The Supreme Court hasn’t considered the issue of private contractor liability since 1988, when in Boyle v. United Technologies, it manufactured civil immunity for military equipment manufacturers. It did so even though Congress had specifically refused to protect private contractors under a statute that otherwise allows for negligence suits against the federal government.” (1/05/25)