Should Loose Lips Sink Whistleblower FCA Suits?

November 7, 2016

Authors: Brian Tully McLaughlin, Jason M. Crawford and Sarah Hill.

For the third consecutive term, the Supreme Court will decide a case involving the False Claims Act (“FCA”). On November 1, 2016, the Supreme Court heard oral arguments in State Farm and Casualty Co. v. United States ex rel. Rigsby on the question of what standard should govern the decision whether to dismiss a whistleblower’s claim for violation of the FCA’s seal requirement.  The seal requirement requires that any FCA action brought by a whistleblower—known as relators under the statute—be filed with the court under seal and not disclosed until the government has had an opportunity to investigate the allegations in the complaint and determine whether to intervene.  In a post on the Government Contracts Legal Forum (available here), Crowell attorneys discuss the current circuit split and analyze the arguments before the Supreme Court.