False Claims Act Defense Strategies: Supreme Court's Rockwell Decision Curtails Relator's Right to Recover

April 2, 2007

New Supreme Court guidance on the False Claims Act ("FCA") is a relatively rare occurrence.  However, in a much anticipated opinion, the U.S. Supreme Court in a 6-2 decision significantly limited the ability of relators — private plaintiffs standing in the shoes of the government in False Claims Act suits — to bring suits under the FCA.  In Rockwell Int'l Corp. v. United States, the Supreme Court held that the relator lacked jurisdictional status because the relator was not the original source of the allegations set forth in the amended complaint filed by the U.S. Department of Justice.

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