Source: http://caselaw.findlaw.com/us-supreme-court/520/939.html
Timestamp: 2017-02-24 07:22:10
Document Index: 514318545

Matched Legal Cases: ['§ 3730', '§ 3730', '§ 3730', '§ 3730', '§ 3730', '§ 3730', '§3730', '§ 3730']

HUGHES AIRCRAFT CO. v. UNITED STATES | FindLaw
HUGHES AIRCRAFT CO. v. UNITED STATES, (1997)
Argued: February 25, 1997 Decided: June 16, 1997
Hughes moved to dismiss Schumer's action, contending that the 1986 FCA amendment was not retroactive and that the qui tam provision in effect when Hughes engaged in its allegedly wrongful conduct precluded qui tam suits based on information already possessed by the Government. See 31 U.S.C. § 3730(b)(4) (1982 ed.). Hughes argued in the alternative that the suit wasbarred even under the 1986 version of the Act because it was "based upon the public disclosure of allegations . . . in a[n] . . . administrative . . . audit," within the meaning of 31 U.S.C. § 3730(e)(4)(A). 3
The allegedly false claims at issue in this case were submitted by Hughes between 1982 and 1984. At that time, the FCA required a district court to "dismiss [a qui tam] action . . . based on evidence or information the Government had when the action was brought." 31 U.S.C. § 3730(b)(4) (1982 ed.). The Ninth Circuit accepted, and respondent does not dispute, that because "the government was aware of [respondent's] allegations before he filed his suit, the [1982 provision] would bar his claim," were it applicable. 63 F. 3d, at 1517.
Congress amended the FCA in 1986, however, topermit qui tam suits based on information in the Government's possession, except where the suit was based on information that had been publicly disclosed and was not brought by an original source of the information. See 31 U.S.C. § 3730(e)(4)(A). Because the 1986 amendment became effective before this suit was commenced, respondent contends that it, rather than the 1982 qui tam provision, controls. We disagree.
In sum, whether we consider the relevant conduct to be Hughes' disclosure to the Government or its submission of the allegedly false claim, disclosure of information about the claim to the Government constituted a full defense to a qui tam action prior to 1986. If applied in this case, the legal effect of the 1986 amendment would be to deprive Hughes of that defense. Given the absence of a clear statutory expression of congressional intent to apply the 1986 amendment to conduct completed before its enactment, we apply our presumption against retroactivity and hold that, under the relevant 1982 version of the FCA, the District Court was obliged to dismiss this action because it was "based on evidence or information the Government had when the action was brought." 31 U.S.C. § 3730(b)(4) (1982 ed.). We therefore vacate the judgment below, and remand for further proceedings consistent with this opinion.
] The Government chose not to intervene in the action, as it was entitled to do under 31 U.S.C. § 3730(b)(2), nor did it move to dismiss the action, as it was likewise entitled to do, see §3730(c)(2)(A).
] That a qui tam suit is brought by a private party "on behalf of the United States," see Brief for Respondent 17, does not alter the fact that a relator's interests and the Government's do not necessarily coincide. Moreover, as the statute specifies, qui tam actions are brought both "for the person and for the United States Government." 31 U.S.C. § 3730(b)(1) (emphasis added). FindLaw Career Center
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