United States Ex Rel., Christopher Hall v. Teledyne Wah Chang Albany Teledyne Industries, Inc., Dba Teledyne Wah Chang Albany and Teledyne, Inc.
Opinion
Opinion
Schroeder, J.
The district court dismissed a qui tam action against the defendant-appellee Tele-dyne Wah Chang Albany, Teledyne Industries, Inc., d.b.a. Teledyne Wah Chang Albany, and Teledyne, Inc. (collectively, “Teledyne”). The court did so because the plaintiff, Christopher Hall (“Hall”), had already sued Teledyne in state court and had settled, executing a release that also encompassed any future qui tam claim. After the district court’s ruling, this court decided United States ex rel. Green v. Northrop Corp., 59 F.3d 953 (9th Cir.1995), where we held that a similar release in state litigation, entered into without the knowledge or consent of the United States, could not be enforced to bar a later qui tam claim.
The issue we now must decide is whether Green requires us to reverse the district court’s ruling in this case. We hold that it does not because the rationale underlying Green does not apply here. Here, in contrast to Green, the government had full knowledge of the plaintiffs charges and had investigated them before Hall and Teledyne settled. Under these circumstances, there is no reason to hold that the release is unenforceable, and we therefore affirm.