Ozor

BACKGROUND

The General Factual Setting On July 28, 2008, Ozer filed a complaint, followed by an amended complaint, the operative pleading here (Complaint). Ozer alleged she was the surviving wife of Ihsam Ozer (and the personal representative of his estate), who was killed on July 26, 2006, when a helicopter crashed into a mountain in Afghanistan. The complaint named as defendants five Tryco-related entities and three Fluor-related entities,1 and alleged that the helicopter was being operated by representatives of Tryco, under a contract it had with Fluor, which itself had contracted with the United States Army Corps of Engineers to build a base for the Afghanistan Army. The complaint was styled “wrongful death and survival,” and purported to allege six causes of action: (1) negligence, against both defendants; (2) negligence per se, against Tryco; (3) through (5) negligent hiring, against Fluor, based on three different theories; and (6) negligent retention, against Fluor. The complaint sought general, special, and punitive damages. Ozer’s lawsuit apparently generated significant activity, manifest by a 43-page register of actions. The record before us reveals little of that…