United States v. Alcan Electrical & Engineering, Inc.

The relator Randy Harshman appeals the district court’s dismissal of his qui tam action against 22 electrical contractors doing business in Alaska (“Defendants”), alleging that they violated the False Claims Act (“FCA”), 31 U.S.C. §§ 3729-33 . The district court dismissed the action for lack of subject matter jurisdiction under the “public disclosure bar” of 31 U.S.C. § 3730 (e)(4)(A), because Harshman had disclosed these allegations in a previously proposed complaint lodged with the district court. We have jurisdiction pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1291 and affirm.

I. Background

Harshman is a member of Local 1547 of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (“IBEW”) in Alaska. On March 12, 1996, Harshman filed an application with the district court for leave to file a suit against union officials for, inter alia, misusing union funds and retaliating against Harshman for exercising his free speech rights. He attached a proposed complaint (“Brooks complaint”) to his application. That complaint alleged:

Brooks Complaint at 5-6. The complaint was lodged, but not filed, with the district court on March 12, 1996. It was not under seal. The district court found that the Brooks…