A Blow to Private Whistleblowers

In a substantial win for businesses, the U.S. Supreme Court recently issued a decision imposing strict requirements for lawsuits by private whistleblowers. Under the federal False Claims Act, once allegations of fraud are publicly disclosed, a relator (as citizen-plaintiffs are called) may bring suit on the government's behalf only if the relator is an 'original source.' In <i>Rockwell International Corp. v. United States</i>, the Court rejected the notion that a relator need only have knowledge of background facts about alleged fraud, even if those facts preceded the fraud. Instead, the Court held that a relator must have direct and independent knowledge of <i>the specific misconduct for which liability is actually imposed.</i>

19 minute read April 30, 2007 at 08:40 AM

By

Steffen N. Johnson, William P. Ferranti And Andrew C. Nichols