False Claims Act Cases and the Seal Provision: What Happens When the Seal is Breached?

Cases brought by whistleblowers under the False Claims Act (FCA) must be filed under seal, meaning that only the government and the court have access to the allegations of the complaint.  31 U.S.C. § 3730(b)(2).  One of the purposes of the seal provision is to prevent the whistleblower from tipping off the defendant about the case while the government conducts its investigation into the whistleblower's allegations.  Accordingly, the whistleblower is forbidden from disclosing the existence of the lawsuit before the court formally lifts the seal on the case.   More

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