Supreme Court Declines To Resolve False Claims Act Public Disclosure Bar Circuit Split

On October 3, 2016, the Supreme Court denied certiorari in Cause of Action v. Chicago Transit Authority, allowing the circuit split regarding what it means for information to be in the "public domain" under the False Claims Act ("FCA") to persist.  137 S. Ct. 205 (2016).  On appeal, the Seventh Circuit had affirmed the district court's dismissal of relator's claims because the defendant's alleged misconduct fell with the FCA's public disclosure bar.  In its decision, the panel admitted that "some of our sister circuits have criticized our reading of [public domain]."  Cause of Action v. Chicago Transit Authority, 815 F.3d 267, 275 (7th Cir. 2016).  Nevertheless, the panel declined to engage in an "in-depth reconsideration of our precedent."  Id. at 277.