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Qui tam lawsuits must
be filed in secret or “under seal,” meaning that the complaint is
not disclosed to the public during the governments investigation
into the case.. It is essential that both before and after you file
the suit, you do not disclose the lawsuit or the fraud allegations
to others. Allegations that are “publicly disclosed” may prevent you
from successfully bringing your suit or recovering an award.
Once you have evidence of fraud, you should act quickly. The False
Claims Act has a “first in time” rule that permits only the first
person who files a lawsuit to maintain a case. Even if you have
significant evidence of fraud, you must be the first –to file to be
a successful qui tam relator .
A qui tam case may also be dismissed if it is based on public
disclosures and the relator is not the “original source.” As a
result, it is best to file suit before your allegations of fraud are
disclosed publicly to the media or in an administrative or
government hearing.
Finally, the False Claims Act has time limits that restrict the
amount of time you have in which to file a case. In general,
lawsuits must be filed within six years of the date the fraud is
committed. The time period may be extended an additional four years
for a total of ten years under certain circumstances when a case is
filed within three years "after the date when facts material to the
right of action are known or reasonably should have been known by
the official of the United States charged with responsibility to act
in the circumstances."
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