The public-disclosure bar is a defense to the False Claims Act (FCA) that prevents relators from pursuing fraud and false claims allegations that have already been publicized, unless the relator is the original source of the information. As statutorily defined, a relator is an “original source” if they voluntarily disclosed the information to the government prior to the public disclosure, or if they have knowledge that is independent of and materially adds to the publicly disclosed allegations (see 31 U.S.C. § 3730(e)(4)(B)).
Whether “original source” status is conferred on a relator because their information “materially adds” to the public disclosure is a fact-specific inquiry. The D.C. Circuit recently provided guidance on what constitutes a material addition to a public disclosure through a pair of related qui tam actions filed against U.S. Cellular Corporation and other defendants.
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is responsible for managing and licensing the electromagnetic spectrum for commercial users and distributes spectrum licenses through public auctions. Because there are high barriers to entry in the telecommunications market, the FCC has a program designed to promote licenses for small businesses using bidding credits that effectively discount the cost of the licenses. Both cases before the D.C. Circuit involved FCA claims by the same relators that U.S. Cellular, one of the largest telecommunications companies in the country, concealed...
By Musa Ubandawaki, Sokoto SOKOTO:– The lingering contest over project ownership between the administrations of Senator Aliyu Magatakarda Wamakko and Senator Aminu Waziri Tambuwal has once again s...