Tenth Circuit recently emphasized that the liability imposed under the False Claims Act (FCA) is predicated on a rigorous materiality requirement. Upholding dismissal of a qui tam complaint based on allegations of false certification of compliance with the Davis-Bacon Act , the court, in United States ex rel Sorenson v. Wadsworth Bros. Construction Company, Inc., held that a relator must do more than simply allege that a defendant falsely certified that it complied with a statute under which payment is conditioned upon compliance. Because the relator’s complaint lacked sufficient details from which the court could determine whether the noncompliance was only minor or insubstantial, the court held that sustaining the complaint would “make a mockery” of the demanding materiality standard articulated by the Supreme Court in United Health Services v. U.S. ex rel. Escobar, 579 U.S. 176 (2016) (“Escobar”).
Background
In 2012, the defendant, Wadsworth Brothers Construction (“Wadsworth”), contracted with the Salt Lake International Airport to construct a deicing pad. The agreement required that contractors be paid in compliance with the Davis-Bacon Act. The Act protects local wage standards by requiring that contractors on federally funded building projects pay their employees no less than the locally prevailing wages for corresponding work on similar projects in the area.
The relator, Kelly Sorenson, worked as a truck driver on the deicing development for just two-and-a-half...
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