Judge Dismisses Caterpillar Suit

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  • LoungeMachine
    DIAMOND STATUS
    • Jul 2004
    • 32576

    Judge Dismisses Caterpillar Suit

    Thursday, March 23, 2006 · Last updated 3:35 p.m. PT

    Rachel Corrie's family appeals lawsuit against bulldozer-maker

    By GENE JOHNSON
    AP LEGAL AFFAIRS WRITER

    SEATTLE -- The parents of a 23-year-old who was killed trying to prevent the demolition of an occupied Palestinian home have appealed a judge's decision to dismiss their lawsuit against Caterpiller Inc., the company that made the bulldozer that ran over her.

    "He applied the wrong legal standard and ignored the facts," said Maria LaHood, a lawyer with the New York-based Center for Constitutional Rights.

    Rachel Corrie was killed three years ago by an Israeli soldier driving a bulldozer. She was trying to stop him from demolishing a Gaza Strip home while the family was inside; though witnesses said she was clearly visible, the army claimed he didn't see her.

    Her parents sued Caterpiller on the grounds that for years, the company has provided bulldozers to the Israeli army, knowing they would be used to destroy civilian homes in violation of international law. They were joined in the lawsuit by five Palestinians who say their relatives were killed or injured by Israeli-driven bulldozers.

    "This has been a challenging time for our family, since we just marked the three-year anniversary of Rachel's death without justice," said her mother, Cindy Corrie. "Caterpillar chooses to support these illegal activities with continuing sales and service of its equipment. It must be held accountable for its role in human rights violations, both past and present."

    In November, U.S. District Judge Franklin Burgess in Tacoma threw out the lawsuit, agreeing with Caterpiller that it wasn't responsible for what the Israeli army did with its legally sold product.



    "Selling products to a foreign government does not make the seller a participant in that governments alleged international law violations," Burgess wrote.

    In the appeal, filed Monday with the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, the Corries' lawyers argue that the judge missed the point.

    "This case doesn't allege Caterpiller should be liable just because they were doing business with the Israelis," LaHood said. "It argues that because they knew the D9 and D10 bulldozers would be used to demolish homes in violation of international law, they are liable."

    Caterpiller lawyer James Magee said, "Obviously, Caterpiller believes the ruling was correct," but declined to comment further because he had not reviewed the appeal carefully.

    The Peoria, Ill.-based company has declined to discuss the lawsuit but issued the following statement last year: "Caterpillar shares the world's concern over unrest in the Middle East and we certainly have compassion for all those affected by political strife. However, more than 2 million Caterpillar machines and engines are at work in virtually every region of the world each day. We have neither the legal right nor the means to police individual use of that equipment."
    Originally posted by Kristy
    Dude, what in the fuck is wrong with you? I'm full of hate and I do drugs.
    Originally posted by cadaverdog
    I posted under aliases and I jerk off with a sock. Anything else to add?
  • LoungeMachine
    DIAMOND STATUS
    • Jul 2004
    • 32576

    #2
    I have to say, this is one of the most RIDICLOUS lawsuits ever filed in the history of The Professional Ambulance Chasers Assoc.



    Sue the mfg of bulldozers, because they should have known they'd be used to run over protesters?????????????????


    Why not sue the steel industry while you're at it../.......they must have known Caterpillar, Inc would use that steel to build bulldozers to run over protesters..........

    Jesus H Christ.

    Using the courts like this to further your politcal agenda is why we're in the mess we're in to begin with.


    Thank God for a Judge with a modicum of common sense.
    Originally posted by Kristy
    Dude, what in the fuck is wrong with you? I'm full of hate and I do drugs.
    Originally posted by cadaverdog
    I posted under aliases and I jerk off with a sock. Anything else to add?

    Comment

    • EAT MY ASSHOLE
      Veteran
      • Feb 2006
      • 1887

      #3
      Remember when Sean Penn was getting sued for punching some photographer?

      thee photographer sued Nikon. No lie. Don't ask why, that part always escaped me. (but it does have something to do with the lealese logic of "sue everybody")
      RIM ME!!!!!!!!!!!!

      Comment

      • FORD
        ROTH ARMY MODERATOR

        • Jan 2004
        • 58783

        #4
        They should have sued the IDF, Ariel Sharon, and the fucking murdering cowardly piece of shit driving the bulldozer, but not Caterpillar.

        Now that being said, if I were the CEO of Caterpillar, I wouldn't sell anymore bulldozers to Israel, knowing how they use them. But that's just me not wanting to give support to genocidal cocksuckers.
        Eat Us And Smile

        Cenk For America 2024!!

        Justice Democrats


        "If the American people had ever known the truth about what we (the BCE) have done to this nation, we would be chased down in the streets and lynched." - Poppy Bush, 1992

        Comment

        • Hardrock69
          DIAMOND STATUS
          • Feb 2005
          • 21888

          #5
          Why do they not sue themselves for raising a daughter stupid enough to step in front of a 15-ton bulldozer?

          Comment

          • FORD
            ROTH ARMY MODERATOR

            • Jan 2004
            • 58783

            #6
            She was trying to defend a home from being destroyed by fascists. The bulldozer was NOT moving when she stepped in front of it, and the Likud murderer acted deliberately. Any decent human being wouldn't have moved the bulldozer forward.
            Eat Us And Smile

            Cenk For America 2024!!

            Justice Democrats


            "If the American people had ever known the truth about what we (the BCE) have done to this nation, we would be chased down in the streets and lynched." - Poppy Bush, 1992

            Comment

            • Cathedral
              ROTH ARMY ELITE
              • Jan 2004
              • 6621

              #7
              Damn, Ford, Your support base for the little lady vanished on ya.

              That's the kind of people your dealing with. bro...worthless commie bastards.
              You wouldn't catch me with my back 'em.

              Comment

              • BigBadBrian
                TOASTMASTER GENERAL
                • Jan 2004
                • 10625

                #8
                Originally posted by Hardrock69
                Why do they not sue themselves for raising a daughter stupid enough to step in front of a 15-ton bulldozer?

                Yeah, no kidding.

                It is a shame of what happened to her, but sane people don't go around fucking with heavy machinery like that. Those things can't stop on a dime.

                My dad worked for Caterpillar for 30 years and I was able to ride in the cab of a D9 on a demo once . Visibility to the front is poor under certain situations when the blade is up. You also can't see underneath you to the front hardly at all.

                “If bullshit was currency, Joe Biden would be a billionaire.” - George W. Bush

                Comment

                • Cathedral
                  ROTH ARMY ELITE
                  • Jan 2004
                  • 6621

                  #9
                  Originally posted by FORD
                  She was trying to defend a home from being destroyed by fascists. The bulldozer was NOT moving when she stepped in front of it, and the Likud murderer acted deliberately. Any decent human being wouldn't have moved the bulldozer forward.
                  I forgot to mention that i agree with you.
                  She was murdered and there was nothing that kept people from physically removing her before the driver put it in gear.

                  She did not have to die in order to make her point, there were other options.
                  They all (protesters) should have been arrested and removed from the scene.

                  Comment

                  • LoungeMachine
                    DIAMOND STATUS
                    • Jul 2004
                    • 32576

                    #10
                    Originally posted by Cathedral
                    Damn, Ford, Your support base for the little lady vanished on ya.

                    That's the kind of people your dealing with. bro...worthless commie bastards.
                    You wouldn't catch me with my back 'em.

                    Nice try


                    Not ONCE did I ever say what happened to her was right.

                    I said her parents had no business suing the MANUFACTURER of the damn bulldozer.


                    You're right, sometimes you aint much of a Republican after all.
                    Originally posted by Kristy
                    Dude, what in the fuck is wrong with you? I'm full of hate and I do drugs.
                    Originally posted by cadaverdog
                    I posted under aliases and I jerk off with a sock. Anything else to add?

                    Comment

                    • Cathedral
                      ROTH ARMY ELITE
                      • Jan 2004
                      • 6621

                      #11
                      Well, that wasn't my point, Lounge.
                      And i wasn't pointing at you specifically.
                      I just remembered the shit storm that came with this issue when she was murdered, and i remember disagreeing with Ford on his position.

                      His didn't change, but mine has.

                      And i'll take the last part of your post as a compliment, thanks!

                      Comment

                      • BITEYOASS
                        ROTH ARMY ELITE
                        • Jan 2004
                        • 6530

                        #12
                        Well does that mean we can sue the Kalishnikov company for aiding in the weapon's inventory of Hamas?

                        This lawsuit shit is quite retarted actually, especially since CAT always left some damn good tips when I was a banquet server at Embassey Suites.

                        Comment

                        • Nickdfresh
                          SUPER MODERATOR

                          • Oct 2004
                          • 49203

                          #13
                          Originally posted by BigBadBrian
                          Yeah, no kidding.

                          It is a shame of what happened to her, but sane people don't go around fucking with heavy machinery like that. Those things can't stop on a dime.

                          ...
                          I think it's pretty clear that BigBlandBrie thinks that anybody that politically disagrees with him can be justifiably killed... It's part of his whole "Fundamentalist-Christian" thing..

                          Must have been "God's will"...



                          Last edited by Nickdfresh; 03-26-2006, 09:44 AM.

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