USCellular urged the U.S. Supreme Court Wednesday to uphold a D.C. Circuit ruling that dismissed whistleblowers’ False Claims Act (FCA) claims alleging spectrum auction fraud, branding their request for review as “misleading.” The appeal centers on whether the plaintiffs, attorneys Mark O’Connor and Sara Leibman, can pursue claims barred under the FCA’s public disclosure rules.
The case traces back to 2015, when O’Connor and Leibman filed suit in D.C. federal court on behalf of the U.S. government, challenging USCellular and affiliated companies’ purchases of FCC spectrum rights at discounted rates.
Earlier this year, the D.C. Circuit held that the whistleblowers’ allegations were “substantially the same” as those in a prior FCA case involving one of the same attorneys, triggering the disclosure bar that prevents qui tam claims when the allegations are already publicly available.
In Wednesday’s Supreme Court brief, USCellular argued that the decision does not create a split among federal courts requiring correction. The brief notes that the FCA’s public disclosure bar was designed precisely for situations like this, requiring dismissal when the “allegations or transactions” have already been aired publicly.
USCellular urged the U.S. Supreme Court Wednesday to uphold a D.C. Circuit ruling that dismissed whistleblowers’ False Claims Act (FCA) claims alleging spectrum auction fraud, branding their reque...