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Just When You Thought It Was Over: Eleventh Circuit Deepens Disagreement on FCA's Tolling Provision

Client Alert | 1 min read | 06.13.18

In U.S. ex rel. Hunt v. Cochise Consultancy Inc., the Eleventh Circuit held that a relator in a non-intervened qui tam action may rely on the FCA’s tolling provision in 31 U.SC. § 3731(b)(2), which expands the 6-year statute of limitations to allow suits to be brought within 3 years of the date that the relevant government official learns of the alleged violation. In so holding, the court disagreed with already divergent views from the Fourth, Tenth, and Ninth Circuits, increasing the depth of the circuit split on this issue. C&M attorneys discuss the Eleventh Circuit’s decision and its potential impact in a recent post for Crowell & Moring’s Government Contracts Legal Forum.

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Client Alert | 3 min read | 11.21.25

A Sign of What’s to Come? Court Dismisses FCA Retaliation Complaint Based on Alleged Discriminatory Use of Federal Funding

On November 7, 2025, in Thornton v. National Academy of Sciences, No. 25-cv-2155, 2025 WL 3123732 (D.D.C. Nov. 7, 2025), the District Court for the District of Columbia dismissed a False Claims Act (FCA) retaliation complaint on the basis that the plaintiff’s allegations that he was fired after blowing the whistle on purported illegally discriminatory use of federal funding was not sufficient to support his FCA claim. This case appears to be one of the first filed, and subsequently dismissed, following Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche’s announcement of the creation of the Civil Rights Fraud Initiative on May 19, 2025, which “strongly encourages” private individuals to file lawsuits under the FCA relating to purportedly discriminatory and illegal use of federal funding for diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives in violation of Executive Order 14173, Ending Illegal Discrimination and Restoring Merit-Based Opportunity (Jan. 21, 2025). In this case, the court dismissed the FCA retaliation claim and rejected the argument that an organization could violate the FCA merely by “engaging in discriminatory conduct while conducting a federally funded study.” The analysis in Thornton could be a sign of how forthcoming arguments of retaliation based on reporting allegedly fraudulent DEI activity will be analyzed in the future....

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