Oral Arguments in Key Supreme Court Whistleblower Case on Tuesday

The Supreme Court will hold oral arguments on Tuesday, January 13, 2014 in an important case brought under the False Claims Act. In October, the National Whistleblower Center filed an amicus brief in Kellogg Brown & Root Services, Inc. v. United States ex rel. Carter supporting the whistleblower.

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce (Chamber) has used this case to continue its attack on the False Claims Act and the integrity of whistleblowers. The Chamber filed a brief in support of the Petitioner in an attempt to convince the Supreme Court to narrow the scope of whistleblowers eligible to file cases under the False Claims Act. This brief contained a full on assault against whistleblowers claiming that the “the vast majority of qui tam relator suits are meritless.” A claim it failed to effectively support in its brief. The Chamber’s attack is premised on a distorted view of whistleblowers, harping on derogatory stereotypes with no supporting empirical data.

The National Whistleblower Center vigorously opposes the position of the Chamber and fully explained to the Court how the False Claims Act is the most important tool for uncovering fraud. As explained in the National Whistleblower Center’s brief, currently 80% of the False Claims Act fraud cases filed by the government were triggered by whistleblower disclosures. By cutting off those disclosures the Chamber and its allies will radically undermine the ability of the government to police fraudulent contractors.

The National Whistleblower Center’s brief was written pro bono by attorneys for the law firm of Kohn, Kohn & Colapinto as part of the firm’s public service mission.

Related links:

Brief amicus curiae of National Whistleblower Center
United States ex rel. Carter v. Halliburton Co., 710 F.3d 171 ; (Lower court decision under review).
All briefs filed in Supreme Court

Contact Information

Mary Jane Wilmoth

Attorney

Kohn, Kohn and Colapinto, LLP

mjw@kkc.com