United States Ex Rel. McVey v. Board of Regents of the University of California

MEMORANDUM AND ORDER

Plaintiff/relator W. Lee McVey instituted this qui tarn action against defendants Board of Regents of the University of California (“Board”) dba Lawrence Liver-more National Laboratory (“Livermore”) and David K. Johnson (“Johnson”) (collectively “defendants”), alleging violations of the False Claims Act, 31 U.S.C. § 3729 et seq. (“FCA”), and 42 U.S.C. § 1983 (“Section 1983”). On September 5, 2000, the Court dismissed with prejudice McVey’s FCA claim against the Board pursuant to Vermont Agency of Natural Resources v. United States ex rel. Stevens, 529 U.S. 765 , 120 S.Ct. 1858 , 146 L.Ed.2d 836 (2000). Remaining in the case are McVey’s FCA claims against Johnson, and retaliation claims under the FCA and Section 1983 against both the Board and Johnson. McVey has stipulated that he seeks only prospective relief for the retaliation claims. Defendants bring this motion to dismiss the remaining claims. Having considered the parties’ arguments and submissions, and for the reasons set forth below, the court enters the following memorandum and order.

BACKGROUND

Livermore is a federally-funded research and development facility under the auspices of the United States…