United States ex rel. Fallon v. Accudyne Corp.

Accudyne Corp. (Accudyne) (defendant) signed numerous contracts with the United States Department of Defense. The contracts required Accudyne to comply with all applicable federal, state, and local environmental laws and regulations, including the Clean Water Act, the Clean Air Act, and the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act. When bidding for the contracts, Accudyne falsely stated that its price submitted included all costs associated with environmental compliance. Accudyne knowingly presented false representations, certifications, and claims that it complied with the contractually incorporated environmental regulations. After the contract award, Accudyne knowingly failed to comply with environmental requirements while performing under the contract. The Department of Defense relied on false representations to pay the contract claim. United States ex rel. Fallon (relators) (plaintiff) brought an action on behalf of the United States, alleging that the defendants knowingly made false claims when it contracted to comply with environmental regulations and received contract payments when it falsely certified that it had complied with the environmental requirements. Relators alleged violations of the False Claims Act, 31 U.S.C. § 3729(a) (FCA). Accudyne Corp. (Accudyne) (defendant) moved to dismiss one of the relators’ claims.