In a dramatic legal showdown, two plaintiffs have filed a lawsuit alleging assault and false imprisonment against multiple construction companies and their employees. The complaint was lodged by Sean Allen and James Fulton in the Circuit Court of Cook County, Illinois, on April 21, 2025. The defendants named in the case include National Builders, LLC, NNY Electrical Services, LLC, Sargon Plumbing Company, Darmo Water Solutions LLC, along with individuals Ninos Starkis, Sargon Zaya, Martin Maiso, and Bashar Darmo.
The incident that led to this lawsuit occurred on January 29, 2025. According to the plaintiffs' account detailed in the complaint, Allen and Fulton visited a job site at 3025 Mannheim Road in Des Plaines to speak with tradesmen they believed were union workers. Upon arrival at the site managed by National Builders as the general contractor for a Popeye’s Louisiana Kitchen project, they encountered hostility from the defendants. As described in court documents, once on-site and within a tarped area of the job site, Allen and Fulton were confronted by defendant Sargon Zaya who verbally abused them and demanded they leave.
The situation escalated when defendant Ninos Starkis allegedly physically restrained both men while ordering other defendants to lock them inside the premises. The complaint states that Starkis incited further violence by instructing his colleagues to attack Allen and Fulton. In an alarming sequence of events recounted in the filing, Starkis reportedly grabbed Allen's shoulders while Zaya ran at him with clenched fists. Defendant Martin Maiso is accused of punching Allen in the head while others struck Fulton with a work helmet.
Both plaintiffs claim they feared for their lives as threats were made against them; notably being told they were "going to die." Despite attempts to escape—including efforts by Allen to reach his car—defendants purportedly continued their assault by beating him and damaging his vehicle. Ultimately trapped within locked gates on-site until police arrived issuing criminal citations against several defendants including Starkis, Zaya, Maiso & Darmo.
Plaintiffs are seeking damages exceeding $50k each plus costs across multiple counts such as concert liability (for acting jointly), assault (for creating apprehension), battery (for harmful contact), false imprisonment (for unlawful detention) among others based on respondeat superior principles holding employers liable for employees’ actions during employment scope.
Representing Sean Allen & James Fulton are attorneys Louis C Cairo; Timothy J Keiser; Taylor E Shur from GWC Injury Lawyers LLC located at Chicago IL., known for handling personal injury cases across various sectors including construction-related incidents like this one involving alleged misconduct leading up serious bodily injuries alongside emotional distress claims made herein against all named parties involved under Case ID: 2025L005326 before Cook County’s Law Division Motion Section presided over yet unnamed judges overseeing proceedings therein.