Plaintiff-Friendly "Public Knowledge" Whistleblower Ruling In 9th Circuit

The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals gave a “respectful burial” (the court’s words) to a 1992 defendant-friendly precedent that made it more difficult for a relator (whistleblower) to bring a qui tam lawsuit if the information on which it is based is public. The 1992 Wang decision (U.S. ex rel. Wang v. FMC Corp.) had held that in order for the lawsuit to proceed when the claim was publicly disclosed before the relator filed a complaint, the relator had to have had a hand in making it public. The Ninth Circuit panel removed that requirement, although the relator still needs to demonstrate “independent knowledge” of the information, and has to have voluntarily provided the information to the government before filing.