A whistleblower lawsuit filed against Bollinger Shipyards Inc. recently settled for $8.5 million dollars.
The ship building company agreed to settle the whistleblower lawsuit with the U.S. government to resolve allegations that Bollinger Shipyards violated the False Claims Act by misleading the U.S. Coast Guard about certain modifications it made to government sea vessels that made them unseaworthy.
The settlement agreement does not include a determination of fault or liability but does release the government from any of the shipyards remaining contract claims.
In an announcement to the public, the deputy assistant attorney general noted that “those companies who expect to do business with the government must do so fairly and honestly.”
The government expects their contractors to have integrity and be reliable. This is especially essential when contractors are building equipment that is essential to the nation’s public safety and national defense.
According to the whistleblower lawsuit that was filed back in 2011, at least eight of the Coast Guard boats were determined unseaworthy after Bollinger Shipyards made certain modifications to the vessels.
The whistleblower lawsuit alleges that the boats were made unseaworthy due to a miscalculation in the ship hulls resistance to bending after adding 13-foot extensions to them.
According to the whistleblower lawsuit, the calculations were based on a ship hull that was much thicker than the boats that were modified for the U.S. Coast Guard. The lawsuit alleges that the Bollinger failed to mention that the hulls of the ships would need to be thickened or replaced.
The government alleged that Bollinger acted intentionally because the company ran its strength calculations three times and then provided the government with the data from the highest calculation. The whistleblower lawsuit alleges that Bollinger also had no internal controls in place to prevent the miscalculations from occurring.
When the whistleblower lawsuit was initially brought, the Louisiana federal judge dismissed the case because she felt that the government had not sufficiently shown that Bollinger intentionally misled the US Coast Guard, but the government appealed the lower court’s decision.
The federal appellate court determined that the government was not required to show Bollinger acted intentionally to such a specific degree and that the case should continue in federal court. It is likely that the appellate courts’ ruling persuaded Bollinger Shipyards to settle the whistleblower lawsuit.
Whistleblower Lawsuits
Attorneys are looking for potential plaintiffs to assist with bringing whistleblower lawsuits. Individuals who witness fraud committed by their employers against the government can come forward and assist the government in righting the wrong.
Those who come forward with information may be able to receive a percentage of what the government recovers by filing a whistleblower lawsuit.
Whistleblowers are people who stand up against their employers and report illegal wrongdoing or fraud that has been committed against the government, costing the government millions of dollars in some cases.
In exchange for a whistleblowers participation the government may reward the plaintiff with 15 to 30 percent of what is recover in the lawsuit if the government joins the case.
In general, whistleblower and qui tam lawsuits are filed individually by each plaintiff and are not class actions.
Do YOU have a legal claim? Fill out the form on this page now for a free, immediate, and confidential case evaluation. The attorneys who work with Top Class Actions will contact you if you qualify to let you know if an individual qui tam lawsuit or whistleblower class action lawsuit is best for you. Hurry — statutes of limitations may apply.
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