Craig
Craig v. Hawthorne Machinery Co.
Opinion
Trial Court Opinion
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 11 UNITED STATES OF Case No.: 20-cv-1625-WQH-AHG AMERICA ex rel. ROGER S.
CRAIG, ORDER
14 Plaintiff, 15 v.
HAWTHORNE MACHINERY
CO., BRIAN VERHOEVEN, TEE NESS, and DAVID NESS, 18 Defendants. 19 HAYES, Judge: The matter before the Court is the Motion to Dismiss (ECF No. 58) filed by Defendants Hawthorne Machinery Co., Brian Verhoeven, Tee Ness, and David Ness (collectively, “Defendants”). I. BACKGROUND On August 21, 2020, Plaintiff-Relator Roger S. Craig (“Relator”) initiated this action on behalf of the United States of America by filing a Complaint under seal against Defendants Hawthorne Machinery Co. (“Hawthorne Machinery”) and Comerica Bank (“Comerica”), alleging violations of the False Claims Act (“FCA”). (ECF No. 1.) On March 11, 2021, Relator filed a First Amended Complaint (“FAC”) against Hawthorne Machinery and Comerica, bringing two claims for violations of the FCA. (ECF No. 4.) On November 16, 2022,…