In late January, the Eleventh Circuit reversed the Northern District of Alabama in U.S. ex rel. Marsteller et al. v. Tilton et al., and revived a whistleblower suit relating to the sale of helicopters under the U.S. foreign military sale (“FMS”) program.

In Carlson v. DynCorp, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit addressed 2009 and 2010 amendments to the False Claims Act (“FCA”) that broadened the scope of its anti-retaliation protection for whistleblowing employees.  As discussed more fully below, according to the Fourth Circuit, a whistleblowing employee can sue if his or her employer retaliates against him or her for making efforts to stop FCA violations, even if an FCA action against the employer was not a distinct possibility.

In a matter of first impression, the Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit held that a relator cannot partake of proceeds from an FCA action if he has been convicted of criminal conduct arising from his role in the fraud.  A CH2M Hill employee, Carl Schroeder, participated in fraudulent over-billing practices along with many of his colleagues. Schroeder pled guilty to one felony count of conspiracy to commit fraud.  After initial interviews by the U.S.