United States ex rel. DRC, Inc. v. Custer Battles, LLC
United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit
562 F.3d 295 (2009)
- Written by Sharon Feldman, JD
Facts
The Coalition Provisional Authority (the Authority), while governing Iraq, contracted with Custer Battles, LLC (Custer) (defendant) for work on a currency-exchange project. The invoices Custer submitted were paid from the Authority’s Development Fund for Iraq (DFI), which was funded by non-U.S. and U.S. sources. A spreadsheet revealed Custer submitted inflated invoices. A subcontractor, DRC Incorporated, and its managing director (relators) brought a qui tam action on behalf of the United States (plaintiff) alleging that Custer had violated the False Claims Act (FCA). The jury found Custer liable for fraud. The district court granted Custer’s motion under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 50(a) because the invoices were presented to the Authority rather than U.S. government employees or officers as required by 31 U.S.C. § 3729(a)(1) and impliedly by 31 U.S.C. § 3729(a)(2). The relators appealed.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (Niemeyer, J.)
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