Judge nixes suit in soldier's Iraq electrocution

PITTSBURGH (AP) — A federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit brought by the mother of a Pittsburgh-area soldier who was electrocuted in his barracks shower at an Army base in Iraq.

U.S. District Judge Nora Barry Fischer has ruled that Houston-based military contractor KBR Inc. couldn't be held liable for the death because military commanders — not the contractor — made the decisions on where to house soldiers and whether buildings with substandard electrical systems were suitable or not.

Attorneys for Cheryl Maseth, the mother of Staff Sgt. Ryan Maseth, say they'll appeal to the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

All parties agree that Maseth died in 2008 when an improperly grounded water pump electrified his shower water.