December 14, 2006
The United States Supreme Court heard arguments on December 5 in a case that pivots on a whistleblower’s standing to bring a False Claims Act suit when there has been a public disclosure of the information underlying the suit.
In this instance a jury found that the whistleblower qualified under the “original source” exception, but defendant Rockwell International disputed that. If he is found to be an original source, he’s entitled to a third of the $4.2 million awarded against Rockwell for lying to the government about disposal of hazardous waste at a nuclear weapons plant.
An article in the December 6, 2006 issue of the Rocky Mountain News has additional details.