Supreme Court liberals side with Clarence Thomas on Taliban suicide bomber lawsuit, 3 others dissent

In a 6-3 decision, the Supreme Court on Wednesday allowed a lawsuit brought by a U.S. Army veteran injured in a Taliban suicide bombing to proceed, vacating a lower court ruling that had dismissed it. 

Winston Tyler Hencely, a former U.S. Army specialist, suffered a fractured skull and brain injuries when a Taliban operative working for a military contractor blew up a suicide vest at Bagram Airfield in Afghanistan in 2016.

The majority opinion, written by Justice Clarence Thomas, rejected a broad "battlefield preemption" theory that would have blocked state-law claims tied to combat activities. Thomas — joined by Justices Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan, Neil Gorsuch, Amy Coney Barrett and Ketanji Brown Jackson — wrote that military contractors are not automatically shielded from liability when their conduct was not authorized by the military — even in war zones.

"We vacate the judgment of the Fourth Circuit and remand the case for further proceedings consistent with this opinion," Wednesday's decision says.

"In 2016, a Taliban operative working for respondent Fluor Corporation, a military contractor, carried out a suicide-bomb attack at Bagram Airfield in Afghanistan. After then-Army Specialist Winston T. Hencely confronted him, the bomber detonated his suicide vest," the opinion explains. "As a result of the injuries he received, Hencely is now permanently disabled."

 "In an effort to recover damages for his injuries, Hencely sued Fluor, bringing state-law tort claims for negligently retaining and supervising the attacker. According to Hencely and the United States military, Fluor’s conduct was not authorized by the military and even violated instructions the military had given it as a condition of operating on the base," the opinion notes.

Justice Samuel Alito, Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Brett Kavanaugh dissented.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates.