ATTORNEY NEWSLETTER
California IRS Whistleblower Lawyer Explains Qui Tam Lawsuits
The Supreme Court seized by private companies contracting with the Federal Government to enforce standards for initiate a Qui Tam Lawsuit.
The False Claims Act promoting Qui Tam Lawsuits against private companies contracting with the Federal Government. Qui Tam is issued of a Latin phrase: “qui tam pro domino rege quam pro se ipse in hac parte sequitur” which means “He who sues in this matter for the king as well as for himself”. This rule encourages the employees of a private company in relationship with the Government to report every fraud or misappropriation of federal funds to federal authorities. The whistleblower is called the relator in a Qui Tam lawsuit.
With respect to the lawsuit, there are two possibilities: either the feds will join with the relator in the lawsuit and help him/her in the process or they will not take part in the trial. If they participate in the trial and the judge recognizes fraud, and even if the Qui Tam suit is settled prior to trial, the relator can pocket a 10-30 percent share of the proceeds. Furthermore, if the employer decides to fire the whistleblower, he will have to pay double to triple the damages.
Applying Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 9(b)
In the last decades, lots of relators have targeted government contractors with vague information or weak evidence just to force them to contract a settlement. Actually, these companies prefer to pay rather than have the case continue in court. They do not want tarnish their public image and lose their contract with the government. For this reason, they argue to the Supreme Court to enforce standards to initiate a Qui Tam lawsuit and would know how we should apply the Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 9(b) to Qui Tam relator suits. This rule provides that “in alleging fraud or mistake, a party must state with particularity the circumstances constituting fraud or mistake. Malice, intent, knowledge, and other conditions of a person’s mind may be alleged generally.” Currently, the federal courts of appeals are divided on the application of this rule.
Speak with an Experienced Attorney
To conclude, if you have knowledge of fraud carried out by a government contractor and would like to avoid dismissal of a qui tam complaint, you have to identify with specificity at least one alleged representative false or fraudulent claim. If you have witnessed someone defrauding the government, contact a California Qui Tam lawyer at the Evans Law Firm.
