Court revives lawsuit accusing Bollinger Shipyards of lying about USCG boats

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A three-judge federal appeals panel this week decided to revive a government lawsuit alleging that Bollinger Shipyards lied about the strength of eight patrol boats the Lockport shipyard lengthened for the Coast Guard.

All eight vessels, which were delivered to the Coast Guard beginning in 2004, were deemed unseaworthy after a boat's hull began to buckle at sea. The federal government is seeking restitution for $78 million in work.

"Based on the facts set out in the complaint, one may reasonably infer that Bollinger acted 'in reckless disregard of the truth or falsity' of the measurements," the panel wrote in its Wednesday ruling. "A key factor is Bollinger declining outside review of a critical calculation while expressing concern that such review might reveal problems in hull strength -- the exact problem with the section modulus calculation that ultimately caused the boats to be decommissioned.

"Relatedly, Bollinger falsely certified that the boats had been reviewed for unrestricted service by a representative of an independent agency, when Bollinger had not had any independent agency review them," the judges wrote.

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