False Claims Act

Qui tam

In common law, a writ of qui tam is a writ whereby a private individual who assists a prosecution can receive all or part of any penalty imposed. Its name is an abbreviation of the Latin phrase.

False Claims Act

The False Claims Act (31 U.S.C. §§ 3729–3733, also called the "Lincoln Law") is an American federal law which allows people who are not affiliated with the government to file actions against federal contractors claiming fraud against the government. The act of filing such actions is informally called "whistleblowing." Persons filing under the Act stand to receive a portion (usually about 15-25 percent) of any recovered damages. The Act provides a legal tool to counteract fraudulent billings turned in to the Federal Government. Claims under the law have been filed by persons with insider knowledge of false claims which have typically involved health care, military, or other government spending programs.

The provision allows a private person, known as a "relator," to bring a lawsuit on behalf of the United States, where the private detective or other person has information that the named defendant has knowingly submitted or caused the submission of false or fraudulent claims to the United States. The relator need not have been personally harmed by the defendant's conduct; instead, the relator is recognized as receiving legal standing to sue by way of a "partial assignment" of the injury to the government caused by the alleged fraud. The information must not be public knowledge, unless the relator qualifies as an "original source."

False patent marking

It is an offense under 35 U.S.C. § 292 (the "False Marking Statute") to mark falsely goods as "Patented." Any person may sue for breach, and the penalty of up to $500 is shared between the government and the person suing. Frequently, patentees fail to remove patent markings from their products following the expiration date of their patents and continue to mark goods sold after that date as patented. This behavior was largely overlooked until a court held that a separate penalty was due for each such article sold. This has inspired a host of similar lawsuits.