Attorney General Ken Paxton is supporting Winston Hencely, a wounded veteran, in a legal case before the Supreme Court. Hencely is involved in a lawsuit against Fluor Corporation, a military contractor accused of negligence in connection with a deadly suicide bombing at Bagram Airfield in Afghanistan. In 2016, during a Veterans Day memorial, Fluor employee and former Taliban insurgent Ahmad Nayeb detonated an explosive, resulting in the deaths of five American soldiers and injuring 15 others, including Hencely.
An investigation by the military identified security and oversight failures by the contractor, which allowed Nayeb to assemble a bomb using materials from the base and access restricted areas. Despite these findings, the Fourth Circuit Court ruled that the Federal Tort Claims Act (FTCA) prevented Hencely from pursuing state-level claims against the corporation. This interpretation of the FTCA conflicts with its usual provisions, which do not typically shield military contractors from liability in such cases. Paxton, along with other State Attorneys General, has supported Hencely by joining an amicus brief led by West Virginia, as the case moves forward with an appeal to the United States Supreme Court.
As reported by the Texas Attorney General's office, Paxton argued, "The brave people who serve our country like Winston Hencely deserve justice when harmed by the reckless actions of military contractors." He went on to criticize the Fourth Circuit's ruling, labeling it as a clear misinterpretation of the law. "The Fluor Corporation’s inaction negligently endangered American soldiers, and the Fourth Circuit inexplicably ignored federal law in an attempt to shield the contractor from accountability," Paxton said. His stance heavily emphasizes the need for justice for those who put their lives on the line and the importance of holding organizations accountable for their oversight or negligence.
