Thomas Berg v. Honeywell International, Inc.

MEMORANDUM

Thomas Berg, Ryne Linehan, Nayer Mahmoud, Stanley Smith, and Thomas Berg (collectively, “Relators”) appeal the dismissal of their qui tam action against Honeywell International, Inc. and Honeywell, Inc. (collectively, “Honeywell”), under the False Claims Act (“FCA”), 31 U.S.C. § 3729-3733 . The facts are well known to the parties and we do not repeat them here.

The district court held that it lacked jurisdiction over Relators’ action under the FCA because the Army Audit Agency (“AAA”) reports and the Government Accountability Office (“GAO”) report were “public disclosures” under 31 U.S.C. § 3730 (e)(4)(A) and Relators did not qualify as “original sources” under § 3730(e)(4)(B). We review de novo a district court’s determination that it lacks subject matter jurisdiction under § 3730(e)(4)(A). United States ex rel. Meyer v. Horizon Health Corp,, 565 F.3d 1195, 1198 (9th Cir.2009).

The “public disclosure bar” of the FCA provides that

31 U.S.C. § 3730 (e)(4)(A) For the bar to prevent a court from exercising jurisdiction, there must have been (1) a “public disclosure” (2) of “allegations or transactions” (3) in one of the three fora articulated in the statute (4) and the…