The 11th Circuit has upheld the constitutionality of the False Claims Act’s qui tam provisions, joining other federal appeals courts that have decided the question and reversing a ruling that had rattled the whistleblower bar. While the constitutional fight isn’t over, the record pace of qui tam filings isn’t slowing, according to experts CCI asked. What should compliance, risk and governance leaders take from where things stand — and what would be the wrong lesson to draw from what looks to be a fairly narrow ruling?
In early September, the 11th Circuit ruled in United States ex rel. Zafirov v. Florida Medical Associates, LLC that False Claims Act (FCA) relators are not “officers of the United States” subject to the Constitution’s Appointments Clause, reversing a 2024 Florida district court decision that drew heavy interest from healthcare, defense contracting and other qui tam-exposed sectors. The panel joined the 5th, 6th, 9th and 10th Circuits in rejecting Appointments Clause challenges to qui tam relators, but it decided the case on a single, narrow ground and remanded two separate constitutional theories, under the Take Care Clause and the Vesting Clause, for the district court to consider in the first instance.
The stakes for compliance and legal functions are hard to overstate. The DOJ recovered a record $6.8 billion through the FCA in FY 2025, with more than $5.7 billion coming from healthcare alone. Relators filed 1,297 qui tam suits last year, a 32% jump over...
The 11th Circuit has upheld the constitutionality of the False Claims Act’s qui tam provisions, joining other federal appeals courts that have decided the question and reversing a ruling that had ...