In class action practice, settlements play a central role. As in all litigation, the parties on both sides see settlement as a way to make peace and avoid the risk associated with going to trial. Class settlements, however, offer defendants something that they cannot obtain by any other means—namely, the ability to cause individuals not in front of the court to release all claims that relate to the events at issue in the class action. Given the...
Jurisdiction
The False Claims Act (FCA) is the primary statute used by the federal government to police fraud in government programs. In addition to providing the government with a means to recover civil penalties and treble damages, the FCA also contains a qui tam provision that allows private citizens—called “relators”—to sue on behalf of the United States and obtain a portion of the judgment. To prevent duplicative relator-filed litigation, Congress—as...