2023 Indiana Code › Title 5. State and Local Administration › Article 11. Accounting for Public Funds › Chapter 5.5. False Claims and Whistleblower Protection › 5-11-5.5-5. Responsibilities of Inspector General or Attorney General as Intervenors in Civil Action; Venue; Complainant as Party; Dismissal; Limitations on Complainant's Participation; Alternative Proceedings

Sec. 5. (a) If the attorney general or the inspector general intervenes in an action under section 4 of this chapter, the attorney general or the inspector general is responsible for prosecuting the action and is not bound by an act of the person who initially filed the complaint. The attorney general or the inspector general may move for a change of venue to Marion County if the attorney general or the inspector general files a motion for change of venue not later than ten (10) days after the attorney general or the inspector general intervenes. Except as provided in this section, the person who initially filed the complaint may continue as a party to the action.
(b) The attorney general or the inspector general may dismiss the action after:
(1) notifying the person who initially filed the complaint; and
(2) the court has conducted a hearing at which the person who initially filed the complaint was provided the opportunity to be heard on the motion.
(c) The attorney general or the inspector general may settle the action if a court determines, after a hearing, that the proposed settlement is fair, adequate, and reasonable in light of the circumstances. Upon a showing of good cause, the court may:
(1) conduct the settlement hearing in camera; or
(2) lift all or part of the seal to facilitate the investigative process or settlement.
The court may consider an objection to the settlement brought by the person who initially filed the complaint, but is not bound by this objection.
(d) Upon a showing by the attorney general, the inspector general, or the defendant that unrestricted participation by the person who initially filed the complaint:
(1) will interfere with the prosecution of the case by the attorney general or the inspector general; or
(2) will involve the presentation of repetitious or irrelevant evidence, or evidence introduced for purposes of harassment;
the court may impose reasonable limitations on the person's participation, including a limit on the number of witnesses that the person may call, a limit to the amount and type of evidence that the person may introduce, a limit to the length of testimony that the person's witness may present, and a limit to the person's cross-examination of a witness.
(e) If the attorney general or the inspector general elects not to intervene in the action, the person who initially filed the complaint has the right to prosecute the action. Upon request, the attorney general or the inspector general shall be served with copies of all documents filed in the action and may obtain a copy of depositions and other transcripts at the state's expense.
(f) If the attorney general and the inspector general have elected not to intervene in an action in accordance with section 4 of this chapter, upon a showing of good cause, a court may permit either the attorney general or the inspector general to intervene at a later time. The attorney general may move to intervene at any time. If the attorney general has not moved to intervene, the inspector general may move to intervene by providing written notice to the attorney general of the inspector general's intent to intervene. If the attorney general does not move to intervene earlier than fifteen (15) days after receipt of the notice of intent to intervene, the inspector general may move to intervene. If the attorney general or the inspector general intervenes under this subsection, the attorney general or the inspector general is responsible for prosecuting the action as if the attorney general or the inspector general had intervened in accordance with section 4 of this chapter.
(g) If the attorney general or inspector general shows that a specific discovery action by the person who initially filed the complaint will interfere with the investigation or prosecution of a civil or criminal matter arising out of the same facts, the court may, following a hearing in camera, stay discovery for not more than sixty (60) days. After the court has granted a sixty (60) day stay, the court may extend the stay, following a hearing in camera, if it determines that the state has pursued the civil or criminal investigation with reasonable diligence and that a specific discovery action by the person who initially filed the complaint will interfere with the state's investigation or prosecution of the civil or criminal matter.
(h) A court may dismiss an action brought under this chapter to permit the attorney general or the inspector general to pursue its claim through an alternative proceeding, including an administrative proceeding or a proceeding brought in another jurisdiction. The person who initially filed the complaint has the same rights in the alternative proceedings as the person would have had in the original proceedings. A finding of fact or conclusion of law made in the alternative proceeding is binding on all parties to an action under this section once the determination made in the alternative proceeding is final under the rules, regulations, statutes, or law governing the alternative proceeding, or if the time for seeking an appeal or review of the determination made in the alternative proceeding has elapsed.
As added by P.L.222-2005, SEC.23.