Supreme Court says FOIA Response is a Bar to Qui Tam Suit

In Schindler Elevator v. United States ex rel. Kirk, the United States Supreme Court held that a federal agency’s written response to a FOIA request for records constitutes a “report” within the meaning of the False Claims Act’s public disclosure bar.  The Court looked to the dictionary definition for “report”, because the FCA does not define the term.  According to the Court, this definition is consistent with the drafting history of the public disclosure bar, and prevents “opportunistic” litigation.

The full opinion is available at http://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/10pdf/10-188.pdf