D.C. Circuit Upholds Broad Protection Of Internal Investigation Materials

On August 11, 2015, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit reinforced the protected status of internal investigation materials over creative, hard-charging efforts of a plaintiff-whistleblower in a federal False Claims Act case. The court itself summed up the importance of the ruling, explaining: "If allowed to stand, the District Court's rulings would ring alarm bells in corporate general counsel offices throughout the country about what kinds of descriptions of investigatory and disclosure practices could be used by an adversary to defeat a claim of privilege and protection of an internal investigation."

This is the second time that the D.C. Circuit has reversed the district court's orders compelling disclosure of internal investigation material in this same case, In re Kellogg Brown & Root, Inc., et al. Last year, the D.C. Circuit reversed the district court's order requiring KBR to disclose internal investigation materials, finding that the