Key Takeaways

• The Supreme Court affirmed the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) authority to seek dismissal of False Claims Act (FCA) cases brought by private relators even when the DOJ initially declined to intervene.
• The Court also ended the circuit split by holding that Rule 41(a) is the standard for the DOJ to seek dismissals of qui tam suits.
• Three justices signaled willingness to review the constitutionality of the FCA’s qui tam provisions that enable private whistleblowers to bring actions.

On June 16, 2023, the United States Supreme Court issued an 8-1 decision in the case of United States, ex rel. Polansky v. Executive Health Resources, Inc., which held that the Department of Justice (DOJ) can move to dismiss a whistleblower action at any time, including after it has made a decision to intervene. The Court also determined that when a whistleblower objects to a DOJ motion to dismiss, trial courts should apply the rule generally governing voluntary dismissals of suits in ordinary civil litigation.

The Government’s Options in ‘Qui Tam’ Cases Under the FCA

The False Claims Act’s (FCA) qui tam provisions enable private citizens to “blow the whistle” and file lawsuits on behalf of the United States government based on allegations that a person has presented a false claim to the government for payment. Such whistleblowers are known as “relators,” and the FCA incentivizes qui tam complaints by rewarding them with large shares of the funds ultimately recovered in successful...

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