( CNN ) -- A Philadelphia law firm filed suit against Blackwater USA on Thursday on behalf of the families of Iraqis killed and injured in last month 's shooting in Baghdad 's Nusoor Square . In this September 24 photo , an Iraqi looks at a car that was destroyed during the September 16 incident . The suit calls the incident a `` senseless slaying '' and claims it was part of `` Blackwater 's lengthy pattern of egregious misconduct in Iraq . '' `` This was a summary execution , an execution without a trial , '' said Michael Ratner , president of the Center for Constitutional Rights which is part of the legal team . The September 16 shooting in western Baghdad left 17 Iraqis dead , according to Iraqi officials who called the incident `` premeditated murder '' in a report released this month . Blackwater , which guards U.S. diplomats , has said that its contractors `` acted lawfully and appropriately '' in response to an attack on a U.S. Embassy convoy . But Iraqi government spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh has said an Iraqi investigation found no proof that the convoy was attacked . A joint U.S.-Iraqi investigation is ongoing . The FBI is leading the U.S. investigation . The suit , filed in federal court in Washington , D.C. , says Blackwater `` created and fostered a culture of lawlessness amongst its employees , encouraging them to act in the company 's financial interests at the expense of innocent human life . '' The suit was filed on behalf of the estates of Himoud Saed Atban , Usama Fadhil Abbass and Oday Ismail Ibraheem , who were killed . It also represents Talib Mutlaq Deewan , who , the suit said , was `` seriously injured . '' Susan Burke , attorney for the plaintiffs , told CNN that Deewan and the other parties approached her firm , Burke O'Neil LLC , which she said represented parties involved in the Abu Ghraib prison abuse scandal . The Center for Constitutional Rights , based in New York , is also part of the legal team . Deewan is not on the official Iraqi list of casualties provided to CNN by Iraqi police , but Burke said witnesses can corroborate he was present and injured in the incident , although she would not specify what injuries he suffered . The suit seeks compensatory damages and punitive damages `` in an amount sufficient to strip defendants of all of the revenue and profits earned from their pattern of constant misconduct and callous disregard for human life , '' to be determined by a jury . A senior Iraqi government official said earlier this week that an Iraqi report will recommend Blackwater pay $ 8 million to the families of each of those killed . North Carolina-based Blackwater has worked in Iraq since the U.S. invasion in March 2003 and has received more than $ 1 billion in U.S. government contracts , including $ 832 million to protect State Department officials since 2004 , according to a U.S. congressional staff report . On September 16 , the suit alleges , Blackwater was not protecting any State Department official -- the official had already been dropped off . However , the Blackwater team involved in the shooting was reportedly coming to the aid of a second team that was protecting a diplomat . One of Blackwater 's guards attempted to stop his colleagues from shooting , the suit claims , but was unsuccessful . And an anonymous U.S. military official in Iraq told The Washington Post newspaper that Blackwater 's conduct was `` obviously excessive , it was obviously wrong , '' according to the lawsuit . A Blackwater spokeswoman did not immediately return a call from CNN seeking comment on the lawsuit . Blackwater turned over more than 400 internal `` incident reports '' to the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform , which held contentious hearings regarding the company . A House report showed Blackwater `` consistently uses excessive and unnecessary force . ... Blackwater 's own incident reports reveal that Blackwater forces fire first in 84 percent of the self-reported incidents involving gunfire . '' The suit alleges `` reasonable discovery '' will establish the company has hired former military officials known to have been involved in human rights abuses in Chile , along with `` mercenaries '' from the Philippines , Nepal , Colombia , Ecuador , El Salvador and Honduras , among other countries . Under a provision put into place in the early days of the U.S.-led occupation of Iraq , security contractors have immunity from Iraqi law . But the Nusoor Square shootings have put contractors ' role in the 4-year-old war under new scrutiny . See a description of how contractors operate » . The House earlier this month overwhelmingly passed a bill that would bring private contractors overseas firmly under U.S. law , allowing American courts to prosecute crimes committed in a war zone . E-mail to a friend .
Federal suit filed in Washington on behalf of dead and missing Iraqis . Suit : September 16 a ` ` senseless slaying '' and part of a ` ` pattern '' Blackwater has maintained that it has ` ` acted lawfully and appropriately '' Iraqi officials said 17 were killed in Baghdad 's Nusoor district on September 16 .