A federal appeals court ruled that the case of a Texas woman who alleges she was gang-raped by co-workers while working for a military contractor in Iraq will go to court instead of arbitration. Jamie Leigh Jones’ federal lawsuit against Halliburton Co., former subsidiary KBR and several affiliates will now be tried in open court. The companies contended Jones signed an agreement that required claims against the companies to be resolved privately through arbitration. This is very good news!

KBR and Halliburton, which split in 2007, have disputed Jones’ account of how the companies responded to her allegations. A lower court found Jones’ allegations of assault and battery, intentional infliction of emotional distress, negligent hiring and supervision of employees and false imprisonment did not fall within the scope of the arbitration clause of the contract she signed.

Source: Houston Chronicle