Whistleblowers given more time; the 9th Circuit says the False Claims Act's generous tolling provisions apply to qui tam plaintiffs, not just the government

Article Abstract:

The United States Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit with United States ex rel. Hyatt v. Northrop Corp. issued the first ruling at the appellate level addressing the applicability of the False Claim Act's (FCA) statute of limitations to qui tam actions. The court held that the FCA's three-year equitable tolling provision applied to qui tam relators, not just to the government. Thus, the relator might have up to 10 years from the time of the fraud in which to file suit, depending on when knowledge of the alleged wrongdoing happened. The whistleblower was a former Northrop engineer who alleged the use of defective parts in a number of military procurement projects.

Limitation of actions, Statute of limitations

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Courts help distinguish contract disputes from false-claims violations; recent decisions may help curb False Claims Act suits by qui tam relators and government

Article Abstract:

Contractors who communicate openly with the government have more of a chance of acting with governmental knowledge, which should lessen or eliminate any liability under the False Claims Act (FCA). Such liability should result only from intentional presentations of false claims. Claims resulting from contract interpretation in good-faith should not result in FCA liability for the contractor unless there is some evidence of deceit. Qui tam relators and even the Department of Justice are trying to turn mere contract disputes into FCA civil suits and this is not legally justifiable.

Popular actions, Public contracts, Government contracts

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Blowing the whistle on environmental violations: the False Claims Act allows pollution claims, a federal judge decides

Article Abstract:

Morrison Knudsen Corp may want to settle a lawsuit seeking damages under the federal False Claims Act for environmental violations, in the wake of a recent settlement in a similar case. A federal judge refused to dismiss claims brought by five former employees and the Atlantic States Legal Foundation against Accudyne and parent company Alliance Techsystems for making false product compliance claims and violating environmental law requirements written into its government contracts.

Cases, Liability for environmental damages, Government contractors

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