Rockwell International Corp., et al. v. United States et al. (549 U.S. 457)
U.S. Supreme Court · decided March 27, 2007 · Supreme Court Database (Spaeth)
- Citation
- 549 U.S. 457 · 127 S. Ct. 1397
- Decided
- March 27, 2007
- Term
- October Term 2006
- Vote
- 6–2
- Majority author
- Justice Scalia
- Issue area
- Economic Activity
- Disposition
- Reversed
- Outcome
- Petitioning party won
- Ideological direction
- Conservative
Opinion excerpt
Justice Scalia delivered the opinion of the Court. The False Claims Act, 31 U. S. C. §§ 3729-3733, eliminates federal-court jurisdiction over actions under § 3730 of the Act that are based upon the public disclosure of allegations or transactions “unless the action is brought by the Attorney General or the person bringing the action is an original source of the information.” § 3730(e)(4)(A). We decide whether respondent James Stone was an original source. I The mixture of concrete and pond sludge that is the subject of this case has taken nearly two decades to seep, so to speak, into this Court. Given the long history and the complexity of this litigation, it is well to describe the facts in some detail. A From 1975 through 1989, petitioner Rockwell International Corp. was under a management and operating contract with the Department of Energy (DOE) to run the Rocky Flats nuclear weapons plant in Colorado. The most significant portion of Rockwell’s compensation came in the form of a semiannual “‘award fee,’” the amount of which depended on DOE’s evaluation of Rockwell’s performance in a number of areas, including environmental, safety, and health concerns. United States ex rel. Stone v. Rockwell Int’l Corp., 92 Fed. Appx. 708, 714 (CA10 2004). From November 1980 through March 1986, James Stone worked as an engineer at the Rocky Flats plant. In the early 1980’s, Rockwell…
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