Nagan Construction Whistleblower Lawsuit

Case Type: Whistleblower/ Qui Tam

Company: Nagan Construction, Inc.

Sanford Heisler Sharp announced that New York-based construction company Nagan Construction, Inc. and Nadir Uygan reached a settlement in a qui tam suit. Per the settlement agreement, Nagan Construction, Inc. and Mr. Uygan will pay $831,000 to the United States and New York state, though the claims brought against Mr. Uygan are limited to the State of New York

Sanford Heisler Sharp's Baltimore Managing Partner, Deborah K. Marcuse, represented Relator Soner Yasti in the case against Nagan Construction, with assistance from New York Senior Litigation Counsel and Whistleblower Practice Co-Chair Inayat Ali Hemani. The case was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York under the whistleblower provisions of the federal and New York State False Claims Acts in September 2017.

About the Case

Mr. Yasti used to work for Nagan Construction and alleged that the company systematically failed to comply with the terms of the construction contracts it held with the federal and New York state governments. These contracts required Nagan Construction to pay its workers the prevailing wage under the Davis-Bacon Act and other related laws. Mr. Yasti claimed that Nagan Construction misclassified its workers as laborers even though they performed work that entitled them to a higher wage.

Nagan Construction agreed to pay $435,000 to settle the federal claims against the company, and $396,000 to settle the State claims. $242,375.60 of the federal recovery will be distributed to current and former Nagan employees who were underpaid by Nagan Construction. For his role as Relator, Soner Yasti will receive a 20% share of the federal and state settlements.

Speaking about the settlement she obtained of her client, Deborah K. Marcuse said:

“Failure to honor the terms of a government contract by denying workers their rightful compensation undermines the value of such an agreement. Mr. Yasti is pleased that the settlement includes payments to his fellow workers who faced hardships as a result of Nagan Construction’s practices. We are honored to have represented him and hope that others will continue to demonstrate similar courage and initiative by coming forward where they see unlawful practices in the workplace.”

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