Drugmaker argues False Claims Act's qui tam provisions let 'private bounty hunters' overstep constitutional bounds.
Indianapolis-based pharmaceutical company Eli Lilly has asked the U.S. Supreme Court to narrow the False Claims Act's powerful whistleblower provisions, arguing that the Civil War-era law has turned private citizens into unaccountable enforcers of federal fraud cases. Lilly's challenge stems from a $183 million judgment against the company over how it reported drug prices to Medicaid, a case brought by whistleblower Ronald Streck under the False Claims Act's qui tam setup.
Lilly's constitutional arguments and fee-shifting challenge could dramatically reset incentives for whistleblowers and affect how aggressively federal and state governments try to claw back money they say was obtained through fraud. The Justice Department has reported that False Claims Act cases brought in fiscal 2025 returned a record $6.8 billion in settlements and judgments to taxpayers, with qui tam suits supplying a major piece of that total recovery.
In its Supreme Court filings, Lilly argues that the False Claims Act's qui tam setup lets profit-driven private relators press federal enforcement actions without the kind of presidential oversight the Constitution envisions. The company is also taking aim at a fee-shifting rule that can stick defendants with a relator's legal bills, even when the government has not taken over the case. The case that brought...
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