On September 30, 2024, the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida issued an order dismissing a qui tam case under the False Claims Act (“FCA”) and holding the relator provisions of the FCA to be unconstitutional.[1] In reaching this conclusion, the Court reasoned that the relator in the case qualified as an “Officer” of the executive branch who had been “improperly appointed,” thereby violating the Appointments Clause of Article II of the Constitution. This decision will likely be appealed to the 11th Circuit and, potentially, the U.S. Supreme Court.
A copy of the order can be found here.
The FCA, passed during the Civil War, allows private parties known as relators to bring qui tam suits when government contractors submit false claims for payment to the government. The statute imposes civil monetary penalties and treble damages on liable parties. Relators are entitled to a portion of any judgment or settlement. Here, the relator alleged that the defendants misrepresented their claims for Medicare Advantage payments to the government. Because the government declined to intervene (which is often the case), the relator was left to proceed independently.
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