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How do Whistleblower Lawsuits Work?
Two big whistleblower lawsuits netted the plaintiffs almost $100 Million combined in the past month. What are these David vs. Golliath lawsuits, also called qui-tam, and how might you someday be affected by them?
So called "whistleblower," or "qui-tam" suits are filed under the False Claims Act, a federal law that empowers people to file lawsuits against federal contractors claiming fraud against the government. Successful whistleblowers can receive a portion (often 15-25 percent) of the damages recovered. Thus, whistleblowers can serve to help reduce fraud against the government, ultimately saving taxpayer money. Whistleblowers with insider knowledge of false claims involving health care, military, and other government spending programs have brought suits under the Act for decades.
As reported by the Wall Street Journal's Law Blog, April 2009 has seen two of the biggest whistleblower settlements in history:
A few weeks ago, we blogged on a huge whistleblower settlement involving Northrop Grumman, one in which pocketed the plaintiff/whistleblower nearly $49 million. It was the largest whistleblower — or qui tam — settlement ever involving alleged military-procurement fraud.
Today, we open the papers to news of another whopper of a qui-tam settlement, one which will net the plaintiff/whistleblower about $45 million.
The case involved Quest Diagnostics and its Nichols Institute Diagnostics unit. The pair agreed to pay $302 million to resolve criminal and civil allegations regarding various diagnostic test kits manufactured and sold until 2006, prosecutors said Wednesday. The diagnostic tests allegedly provided inaccurate and unreliable results, prosecutors said. Under the arrangement, the duo will pay $262 million plus interest to resolve the claims. More...
If you know of instances of fraud against the government, you may be able to file and prevail in a whistleblower, or qui-tam case. Remember, in a qui-tam case, as the plaintiff (the person bringing the suit), you can receive a part of the ultimate settlement yourself. This right to share in the settlement has for centuries (qui-tam cases date back hundreds of years through both english common law and the American courts) encouraged citizens to act a watchdogs against fraud, waste and abuse in government contracting.
The first thing to do is to find a lawyer who specializes in whistleblower cases and knows what do to. In most cases, the lawyer will give you a free consultation to help you understand your rights. Thereafter, the lawyer will counsel you on how best to proceed, if at all with your whistleblower action. Many, if not most lawyers who work in whistleblower cases can also help you to understand your rights if you are retaliated against by your employer who may be involved in the subject matter of your case.
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It's a fact of life that not all marriages succeed. Now, the economic downturn is putting even more stress on families that are splitting up. While celebrity divorces like Mel Gibson's attract lots of media attention, for most couples, divorce is an expense that they just can't afford, but have to deal with in order to move on with their lives.
The New York times is reporting several commentaries in its series, "Husbands, Wives and Hard Times." As Paul Amato, a professor of sociology and demography writes in the series, "research...consistently shows that economic hardship undermines marital quality and stability...Since the middle of the 20th century, declines in the economy have been linked with increases in divorce rates."
Most states now offer a no fault divorce. So, couples who can amicably work out property distribution and child custody issues can preserve family and personal resources while moving on.
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