Source: https://www.halunenlaw.com/practice-areas/qui-tam/state-statutes/rhode-island-qui-tam-statutes/?s=
Timestamp: 2020-06-01 20:11:39
Document Index: 416944093

Matched Legal Cases: ['§ 9', '§ 9', '§ 9', '§ 9', '§ 9', '§ 9', '§ 9', '§ 9', '§ 9', '§ 9', '§ 9']

Rhode Island False Claims Act & Qui Tam Statute | Halunen Law
The Rhode Island False Claims Act allows whistleblowers to bring qui tam lawsuits if they know of violations of state law. The Act imposes liability on persons who knowingly present false or fraudulent claims for payment to the state, misappropriate state property, or knowingly conceal or avoid obligations to pay the state, along with other violations.A defendant found to have violated the Rhode Island False Claims Act may be liable for a civil penalty between $5,500 and $11,000, plus three times the amount of damages sustained by the State due to the defendant’s conduct.
A whistleblower under the Rhode Island False Claims Act is entitled to an award between 15% – 25% of the amount recovered. If the state does not proceed with the action, then a whistleblower is entitled to receive an award between 25% – 30% of the amount recovered. Nonetheless, a court may reduce the award if the action was brought by a person who planned and initiated the fraudulent conduct.
Generally a whistleblower (also called a plaintiff or relator) must file a complaint within ten years of the violations they are reporting.
The Rhode Island False Claims Act also protects employees who report the fraudulent conduct from being retaliated against their employer.
As amended through Rhode Island Public Laws 2013, Chapter 391.
(1) “Custodian” means the custodian, or any deputy custodian, designated by the attorney general or a solicitor under § 9-1.1-6 of the Rhode Island general laws.
(2) “Documentary material” includes the original or any copy of any book, record, report, memorandum, paper, communication, tabulation, chart, or other document, or data compilations stored in or accessible through computer or other information retrieval systems, together with instructions and all other materials necessary to use or interpret such data compilations, and any product of discovery.
(3) “Guard” means the Rhode Island National Guard.
(4) “Investigation” means any inquiry conducted by any investigator for the purpose of ascertaining whether any person is or has been engaged in any violation of this chapter.
(5) “Investigator” means a person who is charged by the Rhode Island attorney general, a solicitor, or designee with the duty of conducting any investigation under this act, or any officer or employee of the State acting under the direction and supervision of the department of attorney general.
(6) “Product of discovery” includes:
(i) The original or duplicate of any deposition, interrogatory, document, thing, result of the inaspection of land or other property, examination, or admission, which is obtained by any method of discovery in any judicial or administrative proceeding of an adversarial nature;
(ii) Any digest, analysis, selection, compilation, or derivation of any item listed in paragraph (i); and
(iii) Any index or other manner of access to any item listed in paragraph (i).
(7) “Solicitor” means a municipality, acting through its city or town solicitor or other duly appointed legal counsel.
(8) “State” means the state of Rhode Island; any agency of state government; and any political subdivision meaning any city, town, county or other governmental entity authorized or created by state law, including public corporations and authorities.
(1) Knowingly presents, or causes to be presented a false or fraudulent claim for payment or approval;
(3) Conspires to commit a violation of subdivisions 9-1.1-3(1), (2), (3), (4), (5), (6) or (7);
(4) Has possession, custody, or control of property or money used, or to be used, by the state and knowingly delivers, or causes to be delivered, less property than all of that money or property;
(7) Knowingly makes, uses, or causes to be made or used, a false record or statement material to an obligation to pay or transmit money or property to the state, or knowingly conceals or knowingly and improperly avoids or decreases an obligation to pay or transmit money or property to the state; is liable to the state for a civil penalty of not less than five thousand five hundred dollars ($ 5,500) and not more than eleven thousand dollars ($ 11,000), plus three (3) times the amount of damages which the state sustains because of the act of that person. A person violating this subsection (a) shall also be liable to the state for the costs of a civil action brought to recover any such penalty or damages.
(1) “Knowing” and “knowingly” means that a person with respect to information:
(ii) Acts in deliberate ignorance of the truth or falsity of the information;
(iv) Requires no proof of specific intent to defraud.
(2) “Claim” means any request or demand, whether under a contract or otherwise, for money or property and whether or not the state has title to the money or property, that:
(i) Is presented to an officer, employee, or agent of the state; or
(ii) Is made to a contractor, grantee, or other recipient, if the money or property is to be spent or used on the state’s behalf or advance a state program or interest, and if the state:
(A) Provides or has provided any portion of the money or property requested or demanded; or
(B) Will reimburse such contractor, grantee, or other recipient for any portion of the money or property which is requested or demanded; and
(iii) Does not include requests or demands for money or property that the state has paid to an individual as compensation for state employment or as an income subsidy with no restrictions on that individual’s use of the money or property;
(3) “Obligation” means an established duty, whether or not fixed, arising from an express or implied contractual, grantor-grantee, or licensor-licensee relationship, from a fee-based or similar relationship, from statute or regulation, or from the retention of any overpayment; and
(c) Exclusion. This section does not apply to claims, records, or statements made under the Rhode Island personal income tax law contained in Rhode Island general laws chapter 44-30.
9-1.1-4. Civil actions for false claims. (a) Responsibilities of the attorney general and solicitor. The attorney general or solicitor diligently shall investigate a violation under § 9-1.1-3 of this section. If under this section the attorney general or solicitor finds that a person has violated or is violating § 9-1.1-3 the attorney general or solicitor may bring a civil action under this section against the person.
(1) A person may bring a civil action for a violation of § 9-1.1-3 for the person and for the state. The action shall be brought in the name of the state. The action may be dismissed only if the court and the attorney general give written consent to the dismissal and their reasons for consenting.
(i) Proceed with the action, in which case the action shall be conducted by the state; or
(ii) Notify the court that it declines to take over the action, in which case the person bringing the action shall have the right to conduct the action.
(2) (A) The state may dismiss the action notwithstanding the objections of the person initiating the action if the person has been notified by the state of the filing of the motion and the court has provided the person with an opportunity for a hearing on the motion.
(i) The state may settle the action with the defendant notwithstanding the objections of the person initiating the action if the court determines, after a hearing, that the proposed settlement is fair, adequate, and reasonable under all the circumstances. Upon a showing of good cause, such hearing may be held in camera.
(ii) Upon a showing by the state that unrestricted participation during the course of the litigation by the person initiating the action would interfere with or unduly delay the state’s prosecution of the case, or would be repetitious, irrelevant, or for purposes of harassment, the court may, in its discretion, impose limitations on the person’s participation, such as:
(A) Limiting the number of witnesses the person may call:
(iii) Upon a showing by the defendant that unrestricted participation during the course of the litigation by the person initiating the action would be for purposes of harassment or would cause the defendant undue burden or unnecessary expense, the court may limit the participation by the person in the litigation.
(3) Whether or not the state proceeds with the action, if the court finds that the action was brought by a person who planned and initiated the violation of § 9-1.1-3 upon which the action was brought, then the court may, to the extent the court considers appropriate, reduce the share of the proceeds of the action which the person would otherwise receive under paragraph (1) or (2) of this subsection (d), taking into account the role of that person in advancing the case to litigation and any relevant circumstances pertaining to the violation. If the person bringing the action is convicted of criminal conduct arising from his or her role in the violation of § 9-1.1-3, that person shall be dismissed from the civil action and shall not receive any share of the proceeds of the action. Such dismissal shall not prejudice the right of the state to continue the action.
(4) (A) The court shall dismiss an action or claim under this section, unless opposed by the state, if substantially the same allegations or transactions as alleged in the action or claim where publically disclosed:
(i) In a state criminal, civil, or administrative hearing, in which the state or its agents is a party;
(ii) In a legislative or auditor general’s or other state of Rhode Island report, hearing, audit, or investigation; or
(B) For purposes of this paragraph, “original source” means an individual who either: (i) Prior to the public disclosure under subparagraph 9-1.4-4(e)(4)(A), has voluntarily disclosed to the state the information on which the allegations or transactions in a claim are based; or (ii) Who has knowledge that is independent of and materially adds to the publicly disclosed allegations or transaction, and who has voluntarily provided the information to the state before filing an action under this section.
(g) Any employee, contractor, agent, or associated others who is discharged, demoted, suspended, threatened, harassed, or in any other manner discriminated against in the terms and conditions of employment because of lawful acts done by the employee, contractor, agent or associated others in furtherance of an action under this section, or other efforts to stop one or more violations of this subsection including investigation for, initiation of, testimony for, or assistance in an action filed or to be filed under this section, shall be entitled to all relief necessary to make the employee, contractor, agent or associated others whole. Such relief shall include reinstatement with the same seniority status such employee, contractor, agent or associated others would have had but for the discrimination, two (2) times the amount of back pay, interest on the back pay, and compensation for any special damages sustained as a result of the discrimination, including litigation costs and reasonable attorneys’ fees. An employee, contractor, agent or associated others may bring an action in the appropriate superior court for the relief provided in this subsection 9-1.1-4(g).
(h) Limitation on bringing civil action. A civil action under subsection (g) may not be brought more than three (3) years after the date when the retaliation occurred.
9-1.1-5. False claims procedure. — (a) A subpoena requiring the attendance of a witness at a trial or hearing conducted under § 9-1.1-4, may be served at any place in the state.
(b) A civil action under § 9-1.1-4 may not be brought:
(1) More than 6 years after the date on which the violation of § 9-1.1-3 is committed, or
(c) If the state elects to intervene and proceed with an action brought under subsection 9-1.1-4(i), the state may file its own complaint or amend the complaint of a person who has brought an action under § 9-1.1-4 to clarify or add detail to the claims in which the state is intervening and to add any additional claims with respect to which the state contends it is entitled to relief. For statute of limitations purposes, any such state pleading shall relate back to the filing date of the complaint of the person who originally brought the action, to the extent that the claim of the state arises out of the conduct, transactions, or occurrences set forth, or attempted to be set forth, in the prior complaint of that person.
(d) In any action brought under § 9-1.1-4, the state shall be required to prove all essential elements of the cause of action, including damages, by a preponderance of the evidence.
(e) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, a final judgment rendered in favor of the state in any criminal proceeding charging fraud or false statements, whether upon a verdict after trial or upon a plea of guilty or nolo contendere, shall estop the defendant from denying the essential elements of the offense in any action which involves the same transaction as in the criminal proceeding and which is brought under subsections 9-1.1-4(a) or 9-1.1-4(b).
9-1.1-6. Subpoenas. — (a) In general.
(A) to produce such documentary material for inspection and copying.
(B) to answer, in writing, written interrogatories with respect to such documentary material or information.
(C) to give oral testimony concerning such documentary material or information; or (D) to furnish any combination of such material, answers, or testimony.
The attorney general may delegate the authority to issue subpoenas under this subsection (a) to the state police subject to conditions as the attorney general deems appropriate. Whenever a subpoena is an express demand for any product of discovery, the attorney general, solicitor, or respective delegate shall cause to be served, in any manner authorized by this section, a copy of such demand upon the person from whom the discovery was obtained and shall notify the person to whom such demand is issued of the date on which such copy was served.
(2) Where a subpoena requires the production of documentary material, the respondent shall produce the original of the documentary material, provided, however, that the attorney general or solicitor may agree that copies may be substituted for the originals. All documentary material kept or stored in electronic form, including electronic mail, shall be produced in hard copy, unless the attorney general or solicitor agrees that electronic versions may be substituted for the hard copy. The production of documentary material shall be made at the respondent’s expense.
(c) Service in general. Any subpoena issued under subsection (a) may be served by any person so authorized by the Attorney General or by any person authorized to serve process on individuals within Rhode Island, through any method prescribed in the Rhode Island superior curt rules of civil procedure or as otherwise set forth in this chapter.
(1) Procedures. The examination of any person pursuant to a subpoena for oral testimony served under this section shall be taken before an officer authorized to administer oaths and affirmations by the laws of this state or of the place where the examination is held. The officer before whom the testimony is to be taken shall put the witness on oath or affirmation and shall, personally or by someone acting under the direction of the officer and in the officer’s presence, record the testimony of the witness. The testimony shall be taken stenographically and shall be transcribed. When the testimony is fully transcribed, the officer before whom the testimony is taken shall promptly transmit a certified copy of the transcript of the testimony in accordance with the instructions of the attorney general or solicitor. This subsection shall not preclude the taking of testimony by any means authorized by, and in a manner consistent with, the Rhode Island superior court rules of civil procedure.
(4) Transcript of testimony. When the testimony is fully transcribed, the attorney general or solicitor or the officer before whom the testimony is taken shall afford the witness, who may be accompanied by counsel, a reasonable opportunity to review and correct the transcript, in accordance with the rules applicable to deposition witnesses in civil cases. Upon payment of reasonable charges, the attorney general or solicitor shall furnish a copy of the transcript to the witness, except that the attorney general or solicitor may, for good cause, limit the witness to inspection of the official transcript of the witness’ testimony.
(A) Designation. The attorney general or solicitor, or their respective delegate shall serve as custodian of documentary material, answers to interrogatories, and transcripts of oral testimony received under this section.
(1) Petition for enforcement. Whenever any person fails to comply with any subpoena issued under subsection (a), or whenever satisfactory copying or reproduction of any material requested in such demand cannot be done and such person refuses to surrender such material, the attorney general or solicitor may file, in the superior court of the county in which such person resides, is found, or transacts business, or the superior court in the he county in which an action filed pursuant to section 9-1.1-4 is pending if the action relates to the subject matter of the subpoena and serve upon such person a petition for an order of such court for the enforcement of the subpoena.
(4) Petition to require performance by custodian of duties. At any time during which any custodian is in custody or control of any documentary material or answers to interrogatories produced, or transcripts of oral testimony given, by any person in compliance with any civil investigative demand issued under subsection (a), such person, and in the case of an express demand for any product of discovery, the person from whom such discovery was obtained, may file in the superior court of the county in which the office of such custodian is situated, and serve upon such custodian, a petition for an order of such court to require the performance by the custodian of any duty imposed upon the custodian by this section.
(5) Jurisdiction. Whenever any petition is filed in any superior court under this subsection (j), such court shall have jurisdiction to hear and determine the matter so presented, and to enter such orders as may be required to carry out the provisions of this section. Any final order so entered shall be subject to appeal in the same manner as appeals of other final orders in civil matters. Any disobedience of any final order entered under this section by any court shall be punished as a contempt of the court.
9-1.1-8. Funds. — There is hereby created a separate fund entitled the false claims Act Fund. All proceeds of an action or settlement of a claim brought under this chapter shall be deposited in the fund , with the exception of actions brought directly by a solicitor, in which case the proceeds of an action or settlement of a claim brought under this chapter shall be provided to the respective municipality.
9-1.1-9. Powers conferred upon municipal solicitors. – All powers conferred under this chapter upon the attorney general with regard to the state are conferred upon solicitors with regard to their respective municipalities in matters involving an action under the false claims act.
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