US ex rel Ondis v. City of Woonsocket, No. 08-2389
In plaintiff's qui tam action against a city under the False Claims Act claiming that the city had defrauded the federal government by making false statements to the Department of Housing and Urban Development when applying for federal grants, dismissal of the case is affirmed where there was no error in a conclusion that the FCA's public disclosure bar applied to divest the district court of subject matter jurisdiction over the action as: 1) the city's alleged misrepresentation and what the plaintiff alleges was the city's true plan were sufficiently in the public domain to ground an inference of fraud; 2) the public disclosure occurred in the manner specified in the statute; 3) plaintiff's suit is based upon those publicly disclosed allegations or transactions; 4) plaintiff does not qualify for the original source exception; and 5) district court did not err in precluding certain testimony during an evidentiary hearing.
Read US ex rel Ondis v. City of Woonsocket, No. 08-2389
Appellate Information
Appeal from the United States District Court for the District of Rhode Island
Decided November 18, 2009
Judges
Before: Torruella, Selya, and Howard, Circuit Judges
Opinion by Selya, Circuit Judge
Counsel
For Appellant: Leon A. Blais, Blais & Parent
For Appellee: Michael B. Galvin, Justin P. O'Brien and Dwyer & Collora LLP