31 U.S.C. § 3730 : US Code - Section 3730: Civil actions for false claims

Search 31 U.S.C. § 3730 : US Code - Section 3730: Civil actions for false claims

(a) Responsibilities of the Attorney General. - The Attorney
General diligently shall investigate a violation under section
3729. If the Attorney General finds that a person has violated or
is violating section 3729, the Attorney General may bring a civil
action under this section against the person.
(b) Actions by Private Persons. - (1) A person may bring a civil
action for a violation of section 3729 for the person and for the
United States Government. The action shall be brought in the name
of the Government. The action may be dismissed only if the court
and the Attorney General give written consent to the dismissal and
their reasons for consenting.
(2) A copy of the complaint and written disclosure of
substantially all material evidence and information the person
possesses shall be served on the Government pursuant to Rule
4(d)(4) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. The complaint
shall be filed in camera, shall remain under seal for at least 60
days, and shall not be served on the defendant until the court so
orders. The Government may elect to intervene and proceed with the
action within 60 days after it receives both the complaint and the
material evidence and information.
(3) The Government may, for good cause shown, move the court for
extensions of the time during which the complaint remains under
seal under paragraph (2). Any such motions may be supported by
affidavits or other submissions in camera. The defendant shall not
be required to respond to any complaint filed under this section
until 20 days after the complaint is unsealed and served upon the
defendant pursuant to Rule 4 of the Federal Rules of Civil
Procedure.
(4) Before the expiration of the 60-day period or any extensions
obtained under paragraph (3), the Government shall -
(A) proceed with the action, in which case the action shall be
conducted by the Government; or
(B) notify the court that it declines to take over the action,
in which case the person bringing the action shall have the right
to conduct the action.
(5) When a person brings an action under this subsection, no
person other than the Government may intervene or bring a related
action based on the facts underlying the pending action.
(c) Rights of the Parties to Qui Tam Actions. - (1) If the
Government proceeds with the action, it shall have the primary
responsibility for prosecuting the action, and shall not be bound
by an act of the person bringing the action. Such person shall have
the right to continue as a party to the action, subject to the
limitations set forth in paragraph (2).
(2)(A) The Government may dismiss the action notwithstanding the
objections of the person initiating the action if the person has
been notified by the Government of the filing of the motion and the
court has provided the person with an opportunity for a hearing on
the motion.
(B) The Government may settle the action with the defendant
notwithstanding the objections of the person initiating the action
if the court determines, after a hearing, that the proposed
settlement is fair, adequate, and reasonable under all the
circumstances. Upon a showing of good cause, such hearing may be
held in camera.
(C) Upon a showing by the Government that unrestricted
participation during the course of the litigation by the person
initiating the action would interfere with or unduly delay the
Government's prosecution of the case, or would be repetitious,
irrelevant, or for purposes of harassment, the court may, in its
discretion, impose limitations on the person's participation, such
as -
(i) limiting the number of witnesses the person may call;
(ii) limiting the length of the testimony of such witnesses;
(iii) limiting the person's cross-examination of witnesses; or
(iv) otherwise limiting the participation by the person in the
litigation.
(D) Upon a showing by the defendant that unrestricted
participation during the course of the litigation by the person
initiating the action would be for purposes of harassment or would
cause the defendant undue burden or unnecessary expense, the court
may limit the participation by the person in the litigation.
(3) If the Government elects not to proceed with the action, the
person who initiated the action shall have the right to conduct the
action. If the Government so requests, it shall be served with
copies of all pleadings filed in the action and shall be supplied
with copies of all deposition transcripts (at the Government's
expense). When a person proceeds with the action, the court,
without limiting the status and rights of the person initiating the
action, may nevertheless permit the Government to intervene at a
later date upon a showing of good cause.
(4) Whether or not the Government proceeds with the action, upon
a showing by the Government that certain actions of discovery by
the person initiating the action would interfere with the
Government's investigation or prosecution of a criminal or civil
matter arising out of the same facts, the court may stay such
discovery for a period of not more than 60 days. Such a showing
shall be conducted in camera. The court may extend the 60-day
period upon a further showing in camera that the Government has
pursued the criminal or civil investigation or proceedings with
reasonable diligence and any proposed discovery in the civil action
will interfere with the ongoing criminal or civil investigation or
proceedings.
(5) Notwithstanding subsection (b), the Government may elect to
pursue its claim through any alternate remedy available to the
Government, including any administrative proceeding to determine a
civil money penalty. If any such alternate remedy is pursued in
another proceeding, the person initiating the action shall have the
same rights in such proceeding as such person would have had if the
action had continued under this section. Any finding of fact or
conclusion of law made in such other proceeding that has become
final shall be conclusive on all parties to an action under this
section. For purposes of the preceding sentence, a finding or
conclusion is final if it has been finally determined on appeal to
the appropriate court of the United States, if all time for filing
such an appeal with respect to the finding or conclusion has
expired, or if the finding or conclusion is not subject to judicial
review.
(d) Award to Qui Tam Plaintiff. - (1) If the Government proceeds
with an action brought by a person under subsection (b), such
person shall, subject to the second sentence of this paragraph,
receive at least 15 percent but not more than 25 percent of the
proceeds of the action or settlement of the claim, depending upon
the extent to which the person substantially contributed to the
prosecution of the action. Where the action is one which the court
finds to be based primarily on disclosures of specific information
(other than information provided by the person bringing the action)
relating to allegations or transactions in a criminal, civil, or
administrative hearing, in a congressional, administrative, or
Government (!1) Accounting Office report, hearing, audit, or
investigation, or from the news media, the court may award such
sums as it considers appropriate, but in no case more than 10
percent of the proceeds, taking into account the significance of
the information and the role of the person bringing the action in
advancing the case to litigation. Any payment to a person under the
first or second sentence of this paragraph shall be made from the
proceeds. Any such person shall also receive an amount for
reasonable expenses which the court finds to have been necessarily
incurred, plus reasonable attorneys' fees and costs. All such
expenses, fees, and costs shall be awarded against the defendant.
(2) If the Government does not proceed with an action under this
section, the person bringing the action or settling the claim shall
receive an amount which the court decides is reasonable for
collecting the civil penalty and damages. The amount shall be not
less than 25 percent and not more than 30 percent of the proceeds
of the action or settlement and shall be paid out of such proceeds.
Such person shall also receive an amount for reasonable expenses
which the court finds to have been necessarily incurred, plus
reasonable attorneys' fees and costs. All such expenses, fees, and
costs shall be awarded against the defendant.
(3) Whether or not the Government proceeds with the action, if
the court finds that the action was brought by a person who planned
and initiated the violation of section 3729 upon which the action
was brought, then the court may, to the extent the court considers
appropriate, reduce the share of the proceeds of the action which
the person would otherwise receive under paragraph (1) or (2) of
this subsection, taking into account the role of that person in
advancing the case to litigation and any relevant circumstances
pertaining to the violation. If the person bringing the action is
convicted of criminal conduct arising from his or her role in the
violation of section 3729, that person shall be dismissed from the
civil action and shall not receive any share of the proceeds of the
action. Such dismissal shall not prejudice the right of the United
States to continue the action, represented by the Department of
Justice.
(4) If the Government does not proceed with the action and the
person bringing the action conducts the action, the court may award
to the defendant its reasonable attorneys' fees and expenses if the
defendant prevails in the action and the court finds that the claim
of the person bringing the action was clearly frivolous, clearly
vexatious, or brought primarily for purposes of harassment.
(e) Certain Actions Barred. - (1) No court shall have
jurisdiction over an action brought by a former or present member
of the armed forces under subsection (b) of this section against a
member of the armed forces arising out of such person's service in
the armed forces.
(2)(A) No court shall have jurisdiction over an action brought
under subsection (b) against a Member of Congress, a member of the
judiciary, or a senior executive branch official if the action is
based on evidence or information known to the Government when the
action was brought.
(B) For purposes of this paragraph, "senior executive branch
official" means any officer or employee listed in paragraphs (1)
through (8) of section 101(f) of the Ethics in Government Act of
1978 (5 U.S.C. App.).
(3) In no event may a person bring an action under subsection (b)
which is based upon allegations or transactions which are the
subject of a civil suit or an administrative civil money penalty
proceeding in which the Government is already a party.
(4)(A) No court shall have jurisdiction over an action under this
section based upon the public disclosure of allegations or
transactions in a criminal, civil, or administrative hearing, in a
congressional, administrative, or Government (!2) Accounting Office
report, hearing, audit, or investigation, or from the news media,
unless the action is brought by the Attorney General or the person
bringing the action is an original source of the information.
(B) For purposes of this paragraph, "original source" means an
individual who has direct and independent knowledge of the
information on which the allegations are based and has voluntarily
provided the information to the Government before filing an action
under this section which is based on the information.
(f) Government Not Liable for Certain Expenses. - The Government
is not liable for expenses which a person incurs in bringing an
action under this section.
(g) Fees and Expenses to Prevailing Defendant. - In civil actions
brought under this section by the United States, the provisions of
section 2412(d) of title 28 shall apply.
(h) Any employee who is discharged, demoted, suspended,
threatened, harassed, or in any other manner discriminated against
in the terms and conditions of employment by his or her employer
because of lawful acts done by the employee on behalf of the
employee or others in furtherance of an action under this section,
including investigation for, initiation of, testimony for, or
assistance in an action filed or to be filed under this section,
shall be entitled to all relief necessary to make the employee
whole. Such relief shall include reinstatement with the same
seniority status such employee would have had but for the
discrimination, 2 times the amount of back pay, interest on the
back pay, and compensation for any special damages sustained as a
result of the discrimination, including litigation costs and
reasonable attorneys' fees. An employee may bring an action in the
appropriate district court of the United States for the relief
provided in this subsection.