High Court Should Reverse 4th Circ.’s Flawed FCA Ruling

The U.S. Supreme Court is currently deciding whether to review the Fourth Circuit's decision in United States ex rel. Carter v. Halliburton Co., 710 F.3d 171 (4th Cir. 2013), holding that the Wartime Suspension of Limitations Act suspended the statute of limitations for civil False Claims Act cases.

In Carter, a former employee filed a whistleblower action under the qui tam provisions of the FCA, alleging that, in early 2005, the defendants submitted false claims to the United States military for water purification services provided during the Iraq War. The United States declined to intervene and the former employee has litigated the action on behalf of the government, as the qui tam provisions permit.