Jed Cain
Partner

The U.S. Supreme Court (SCOTUS) will soon weigh in on a landmark case regarding the government’s authority to dismiss whistleblower lawsuits brought by private citizens on its behalf, even if that citizen objects.

The False Claims Act is designed to penalize those who knowingly submit false or fraudulent claims to the government for services supported by public funds. A whistleblower is someone who witnesses fraud taking place, either directly or through reasonable suspicion. A “qui tam” lawsuit can be filed by a whistleblower, also referred to as the relator, who brings an action against the alleged offender on behalf of the government.

Once a whistleblower lawsuit is filed, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) is allowed 60 days to investigate the case details and decide whether to intervene. If it chooses to intervene, the whistleblower could receive a percentage of the government’s award for exposing the fraud, which would have gone unnoticed without his efforts. If the government declines, the whistleblower may continue the lawsuit on their own.

The DOJ may dismiss the lawsuit at any time after giving the whistleblower notice of its motion to dismiss and holding a hearing on that motion.

In the case before the Supreme Court, a whistleblower objected to the DOJ’s decision to dismiss his case, which was upheld in several lower courts, including the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. SCOTUS agreed to re-examine the decision, which may change the...

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