When you work for a Michigan employer and learn that the employer is engaging in unlawful or unethical activities in an effort to defraud the federal government, you may consider filing a quit tam lawsuit. A specific type of whistleblower lawsuit involving the False Claims Act, a qui tam lawsuit gives you a way to help the government identify fraudulent acts and recover the money lost as a result of them.
Per the National Whistleblower Center, the False Claims Act is the nation’s oldest qui tam law and dictates how and when you need to go about filing a qui tam lawsuit.
How to file a qui tam lawsuit
You have the right to file a qui tam lawsuit as long as another party or government entity has not already done so using the same evidence you planned to use. To file a qui tam lawsuit, you must do so in a confidential manner, meaning you have to do it on camera and under seal. You have to file the lawsuit in federal district court while following the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. The U.S. Attorney General and the U.S. Attorney for the specific district where you filed your complaint also have to receive copies of the materials you supplied.
When to file a qui tam lawsuit
There are statutes of limitations involved in filing qui tam lawsuits. You must file yours either within six years from the date the violation occurred or three years from the date the government found out about or should have found out about, the violation.
You may not file a qui tam lawsuit when more than 10 years have passed since the violation occurred.