HOUSTON (AP) — Halliburton Co. and KBR Inc. have withdrawn an appeal asking the U.S. Supreme Court to block a lawsuit by a former military contractor who says she was raped by KBR co-workers in Iraq.

KBR said in a statement Monday that it withdrew the appeal to not risk violating a recently passed federal provision restricting the Defense Department from doing business with companies that prohibit employees from seeking redress for certain crimes through the courts.

Jamie Leigh Jones, of Texas, sued the companies after she says she was raped while working for KBR in Baghdad in 2005. KBR and Halliburton split in 2007.

The companies argued that Jones' contract required claims against them be settled through arbitration. But a federal appeals court ruled that the case could go to trial.