U.S. Supreme Court Resolves Circuit Split: FCA Relators Cannot Base Claims On Information Received Through FOIA Requests

The U.S. Supreme Court resolved a split among federal circuits in its May 16 ruling that the public disclosure bar of the federal False Claims Act (FCA) precludes plaintiffs from bringing claims under the FCA based on information obtained through Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests for public documents. Schindler Elevator Corp. v. United States ex rel. Kirk, No. 10-188, 563 U.S. ___ (May 16, 2011).¹ The FCA's public disclosure bar generally forecloses qui tam suits that are "based upon the public disclosure of allegations or transactions . . . in a congressional, administrative, or Government Accounting Office report, hearing, audit, or investigation." Id. The Court found that a federal agency's written response to a FOIA request for records constitutes a "report" within the meaning of the FCA's public disclosure bar and, as such, cannot form an independent basis for an FCA claim. See 31 U.S.C. § 3730(e)(4)(A).