On September 30, 2024, the US District Court for the Middle
District of Florida dismissed a False Claims Act (FCA) case on the
grounds that the qui tam provision of the FCA is
unconstitutional. This ruling will almost certainly be appealed to
the US Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit and could reach
the Supreme Court in the next year or two. If the decision is
upheld, it would have extraordinary consequences for FCA
enforcement, which is driven primarily by qui tam relator
claims. At a minimum, this ruling has important litigation and
strategic implications for anyone involved in qui tam
litigation today or in the future.
IN DEPTH
The FCA allows private whistleblowers – called relators
– to file and prosecute FCA cases. When the government
declines to intervene and take over the case (which it frequently
declines to do), relators can continue the case and represent the
government on their own, through discovery, trial, and any appeals.
If they win,
