Bloomberg Law quotes Phillips & Cohen whistleblower attorney Claire Sylvia in an article about a DC court ruling that allows a whistleblower to continue pursuing a qui tam case involving allegations of a fraudulently induced contract.
The decision reaffirms the longstanding view that the FCA applies to a fraudulently induced contract, said Claire M. Sylvia, who represents whistleblowers with Phillips & Cohen LLP in San Francisco.
“What is surprising and a bit mystifying is the concurring opinion that raises old and discredited arguments about the constitutionality of the qui tam provisions of the FCA,” she said.
“The opinion cites a 1989 opinion of DOJ’s Office of Legal Counsel that the Office later disavowed. And two decades ago, the Supreme Court relied on the history of qui tam actions, which existed at the formation of the United States, to hold that private qui tam relators had standing under the Constitution to sue in the name of the government,” she said.
Read the entire article, “IBM Must Face Suit Saying It Tricked IRS Into Software Deal,” on Bloomberg Law’s website.