United States v. Lockheed Missiles & Space Co.

OVERVIEW

The appellants, Margaret A. Newsham and Martin Overbeek Bloem (“relators”), are qui tam plaintiffs under the False Claim Act (“FCA”), 31 U.S.C. §§ 3729-3733 . The relators alleged that Appellee Lockheed Missiles and Space Company, Inc. (“LMSC”) submitted millions of dollars of false claims for excessive nonproductive labor hours on government projects. The relators appeal two of the district court’s rulings: (1) dismissal of their claims because the court concluded that it lacked subject matter jurisdiction under the pre-1986 FCA, and (2) refusal to award attorneys’ fees under California’s Anti-SLAPP 2 statute, Cal.Civ.Proc. Code § 425.16, for the dismissal of LMSC’s counterclaims. LMSC appeals the district court’s application of Fed. R.Civ.P. 54(d)(1) and equitable considerations to deny LMSC’s cost bill for a part of the case that was dismissed.

We have jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1291 , and we affirm the district court in part and reverse in part.

OVERVIEW OF QUI TAM ACTIONS

The FCA has two primary purposes: “to alert the government as early as possible to fraud that is being committed against it and to encourage insiders to come forward with such information…