A potentially blockbuster lawsuit against the firm formerly known as Blackwater continues apace in U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C.

The families of Iraqi civilians killed in Baghdad's Al Watahba Square on Sept. 9, 2007 and in Baghdad's Nisour Square a week later are pursuing wrongful death claims. The lawsuit is intriguing both for the underlying claims -- what civil responsibility does the private security firm have for the use of violent tactics in a combat zone?-- and for the potential to shed light on Blackwater's secretive world.

For instance, consider this summary of the complaint quoted Monday by U.S. District Judge Reggie B. Walton:

“Blackwater allegedly knew at the time of the shooting incidents in question that “25 percent or more of its ‘shooters’ were ingesting steroids or other judgment-altering substances, yet failed to take effective steps to stop drug use."

On Monday, Walton determined that he wasn't yet ready to rule on Blackwater's request to either dismiss the consolidated lawsuits or transfer them out of the District of Columbia. Blackwater's attorneys had sought to move the case to the Eastern District of Virginia; presumably, from the belief that it would offer a more sympathetic venue.

Judge Walton sounded clearly skeptical of the plaintiffs' claims, pressed by the Philadelphia firm Burke O'Neil and the New York-based Center for Constitutional Rights, that D.C. is a proper venue because of Blackwater's contractual relationship with the State Department. Walton further added that he was "skeptical of the plaintiffs’ argument that venue is appropriate in the District of Columbia because the defendants may have misled the United States into thinking that the Blackwater companies were reputable businesses." Nonetheless, he is providing more time for arguments before ruling on the venue question.