Kellogg Brown & Root Services, Inc. v. United States ex rel. Carter (575 U.S. 650)
U.S. Supreme Court · decided May 26, 2015 · Supreme Court Database (Spaeth)
- Citation
- 575 U.S. 650 · 135 S. Ct. 1970
- Decided
- May 26, 2015
- Term
- October Term 2014
- Vote
- 9–0
- Majority author
- Justice Alito
- Issue area
- Economic Activity
- Disposition
- Affirmed and reversed (or vacated) in part and remanded
- Outcome
- Petitioning party won
- Ideological direction
- Conservative
Opinion excerpt
Justice ALITOdelivered the opinion of the Court. Wars have often provided "exceptional opportunities" for fraud on the United States Government. See United States v. Smith,342 U.S. 225, 228, 72 S.Ct. 260, 96 L.Ed. 252 (1952). "The False Claims Act was adopted in 1863 and signed into law by President Abraham Lincoln in order to combat rampant fraud in Civil War defense contracts." S.Rep. No. 99-345, p. 8(1986), 1986 U.S.C.C.A.N. 5266, 5273. Predecessors of the Wartime Suspension of Limitations Act were enacted to address similar problems that arose during the First and Second World Wars. See Smith, supra,at 228-229, 72 S.Ct. 260. In this case, we must decide two questions regarding those laws: first, whether the Wartime Suspension of Limitations Act applies only to criminal charges or also to civil claims; second, whether the False Claims Act's first-to-file bar keeps new claims out of court only while related claims are still alive or whether it may bar those claims in perpetuity. I A The False Claims Act (FCA) imposes liability on any person who "knowingly presents ... a false or fraudulent claim for payment or approval," 31 U.S.C. § 3729(a)(1)(A), "to an officer or employee of the United States," 3729(b)(2)(A)(i). The FCA may be enforced not just through litigation brought by the Government itself, but also through civil qui tamactions that are filed by private parties,…
Excerpt of a 22,417-character opinion. The full text and citation network load in the interactive viewer above.