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False Claims Act retaliation claim statute of limitations
June 20, 2005 by Ross Runkel at LawMemo
The US Supreme Court says the statute of limitations for False Claims Act retaliation claims is the most analogous state statute. Graham County Soil v. US ex rel Wilson (US Supreme Court 06/20/2005).
Wilson sued under the federal False Claims Act (FCA) claiming her employer retaliated against her for alerting federal officials to purported fraud and for cooperating with the ensuing investigation. The trial court dismissed the suit as untimely under the state's 3-year statute of limitations; the 4th Circuit reversed, applying the FCA's 6-year limitation period; the US Supreme Court reversed.
The US Supreme Court held: The appropriate statute of limitations in a False Claims Act retaliation case is the most closely analogous state statute, not the 6-year period stated in the FCA.
My view: (1) Typically state statutes of limitations will be shorter than six years. (2) Plaintiffs often join a retaliation claim with a qui tam action in the Government's name (hoping to collect a portion of the ill-gotten gains). The qui tam claim will governed by the federal six-years statute of limitations.
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