The National Whistleblower Center has filed an amicus curiae brief in Cochise Consultancy, Inc. v. United States, ex rel. Hunt, a case going to the Supreme Court to settle a three-way splint between circuit courts interpreting the statute of limitations specified by the False Claims Act.
The brief argues that the plain language of the statute supports the Eleventh Circuit’s interpretation, saying the law “clearly states that the ten-year statute of limitations applies equally to both relators and government officials and to any civil action brought under section 3730.”
It further asserts that the FCA’s first to file bar is the primary method of ensuring FCA complaints are filed promptly and not the statute of limitations. Under the first to file provision, those who file later are barred from receiving a whistleblower reward in a qui tam lawsuit.
