Naval Engineer Class Action Lawsuit: Naval Engineers Filed an Antitrust Class Action Lawsuit Against Various Public Fleet Shipbuilders and Consulting Firms Over Alleged No-Poach Agreement.
Naval Engineer Antitrust Class Action Lawsuit
On October 6, 2023, a class action lawsuit complaint was reportedly filed against various companies in the public fleet shipbuilding industry in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, Alexandria Division, styled Susan Scharpf and Anthony D’Armiento v. General Dynamics Corp., Bath Iron Works Corp., Electric Boat Corp., General Dynamics Information Technology, Inc., Huntington Ingalls Industries, Inc., Newport News Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Co., et al., Class Action Case No. 1:23-cv-01372 (The Honorable Anthony John Trenga) alleging, among other things, that defendants engaged in a no-poach conspiracy to maintain an illegal “gentlemen’s agreement” not to actively recruit, or “poach,” each other’s naval engineer employees, in violation of antitrust laws.
According to the Naval engineer class action complaint, the purpose and effect of such no poach agreements was to “cheat highly skilled workers who design the most powerful military fleet in the world out of the competitive wages they deserve.”
Who Is Included In The Proposed Naval Engineer Class Action Lawsuit?
The Naval Engineer class action lawsuit is reportedly brought on behalf of and includes, unless otherwise excluded, the following putative class members:
All naval architects and marine engineers employed by Defendants (except Defendant Faststream Recruitment Ltd.), their predecessors, subsidiaries, and/or related entities in the United States at any time from January 1, 2000, until Defendants’ unlawful conduct ceases.
Who Are The Defendants That Were Sued In The Naval Engineer Class Action Lawsuit?
The defendants named in the Naval Engineer class action include General Dynamics Corporation, Bath Iron Works Corporation, Electric Boat Corporation, General Dynamics Information Technology, Inc., Huntington Ingalls Industries, Inc., Newport News Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Co., Ingalls Shipbuilding, Inc., HII Mission Technologies Corp., HII Fleet Support Group LLC, Marinette Marine Corporation, Bollinger Shipyards, LLC, Gibbs & Cox, Inc., Serco, Inc., BMT International, Inc., Technology Financing Inc., CACI International Inc., The Columbia Group, Inc., Thor Solutions LLC, Tridentis, LLC and Faststream Recruitment Ltd.
What Claims Are Alleged In The Naval Engineer Class Action Lawsuit?
The Naval Engineer class action lawsuit complaint asserts a conspiracy to depress compensation in violation of Section 1 of the Sherman Antitrust Act.
Specifically, the naval engineer lawsuit alleges a per se unlawful agreement, combination, and conspiracy in restraint of trade, in violation of 15 U.S.C. § 1 consisting of allegations that “Defendants agreed to restrict competition for Class Members’ services through restrictions on hiring and recruiting naval engineers from, between, and among each other, in the form of a long-standing and unwritten “gentlemen’s agreement” not to affirmatively recruit one another’s naval engineers.”
What Remedy Is The Putative Class Seeking In The Naval Engineer Class Action Lawsuit?
The plaintiff and the proposed class members in the Naval Engineer class action lawsuit allegedly seek, among other things, the following relief:
- Certification of the lawsuit as a class action
- A declaration that Defendants’ actions were in violation of Section 1 of the Sherman Act, 15 U.S.C. § 1
- An award of treble damages
- Injunctive relief
- An award of attorneys’ fees and costs
- Pre-judgment and post-judgment interest
According to the Naval engineer class action lawsuit complaint, “Defendants’ unlawful and anticompetitive conduct has cost thousands of highly skilled naval engineers hundreds of millions of dollars in compensation.”
If you were a marine engineer or naval architect in the public fleet shipbuilding industry, connect with a class action lawyer to see if you may be eligible to recover compensation from the naval engineer antitrust class action lawsuit.