Opinion ID: 759793
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: The 1986 False Claims Act Standard

Text: 22 The next issue we must address is whether a different standard applies to the analysis of Hughes' post-1986 conduct. The Supreme Court in Schumer specifically stated that the false claims alleged by Schumer were submitted to the government between 1982 and 1984, Schumer, 117 S.Ct. at 1875, and that Hughes' alleged false charges occurred before 1986. Id. at 1876 n. 4. By contrast, Lujan alleges that Hughes mischarged the government from 1982 through 1989. Because the district court in Lujan's case did not make specific findings as to the individual dates of the alleged presentation of false claims, we must assume that some of the alleged presentation of false claims occurred after 1986. Accordingly, we must determine whether Lujan's post-1986 allegations are jurisdictionally barred by the 1986 version of the FCA, which provides: 23 No court shall have jurisdiction over an action under this section based upon the public disclosure of allegations or transactions in a criminal, civil, or administrative hearing, in a congressional, administrative, or Government Accounting Office report, hearing, audit, or investigation, or from the news media, unless the action is brought by the Attorney General or the person bringing the action is an original source of the information. 24 31 U.S.C.A. § 3730(e)(4)(A) (West Supp.1998). 2 25 In subsection (B), the statute next defines original source as an individual who has direct and independent knowledge of the information on which the allegations are based and has voluntarily provided the information to the Government before filing an action under this section which is based on the information. 31 U.S.C.A. § 3730(e)(4)(B) (West Supp.1998). Thus, as the Supreme court noted in Schumer, the 1986 amendments allow 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. Schumer, 117 S.Ct. at 1876. 26