Highlights

• The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in U.S. ex rel. Polansky that the federal government has the authority to dismiss a False Claims Act (FCA) suit at any stage of litigation, even over a relator's objections, so long as the government first intervenes. The Court also held that the proper standard for dismissal is found in FRCP 41(a), the rule governing voluntary dismissals.
• The Supreme Court's decision suggests that defendants in qui tam cases may wish to continue to press the government to intervene and move to dismiss, even in cases where the government declined to intervene during the seal period.
• Three justices noted that the courts should consider whether the FCA's qui tam provisions violate Article II of the U.S. Constitution, raising the possibility that the Court might address that question in the future.

The U.S. Supreme Court, in a near-unanimous (8-1) decision, resolved a divide among circuit courts on the federal government's authority to dismiss a False Claims Act (FCA) suit where the government initially declined to intervene. In U.S. ex rel. Polansky, the Supreme Court held that the government has the authority to dismiss an FCA action at any point in the litigation, so long as it first intervenes in the action. The Court rejected the argument (adopted by Justice Clarence Thomas in dissent) that the government cannot unilaterally dismiss a case if it declined to intervene during the seal period. The Court further held that the standard for dismissal...

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