The U.S. Supreme Court has issued a new ruling that limits the right of whistleblowers to recover a slice of the damages paid by government contractors whose violations are exposed. Engineer James Stone filed a lawsuit under the Federal False Claims Act (FCA), charging Boeing Co. made false statements regarding safety and environmental issues at its nuclear plant in Colorado. The U.S. government joined in the suit and eventually won $4.2 million in damages.
Although the FCA permits whistleblowers to partake in such awards, the high court ruled that Stone wasn’t entitled to a share because he wasn’t the “original source” of the information about Boeing’s wrongdoing. In fact, the jury’s verdict wasn’t based on information Stone provided.
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Additional Resources
Rockwell v. United States, U.S. Supreme Court No. 05-1272, 2007