In common law, a writ of qui tam is a writ whereby a private individual who assists
a prosecution can receive all or part of any penalty imposed. Its name is an
abbreviation of the Latin phrase qui tam pro domino rege quam pro se ipso in hoc
parte sequitur, meaning "he who sues for the king as well as for himself."
The
writ fell into disuse in England and Wales following the Common Informers
Act 1951 but, as of 2008, remains current in the United States under the
False Claims Act, 31 U.S.C. § 3729 et seq., which allows for a private individual,
or "whistleblower", with knowledge of past or present fraud committed against
the U.S. federal government to bring suit on its behalf. This provision allows
a private person, known as a “relator,” to bring a lawsuit on behalf of the
United States, where the private person has information that the named defendant
has knowingly submitted or caused the submission of false or fraudulent claims
to the United States. The relator need not have been personally harmed by
the defendant’s conduct.
The False Claims Act provides incentive to
relators by granting them between 15% and 25% of any award or settlement amount.
In addition, the statute provides an award of the relator's attorney's fees,
making qui tam actions a popular topic for the plaintiff's bar. An individual bringing
suit pro se, that is, without the representation of a lawyer, may not bring
a qui tam action under the False Claims Act. See, for example, United States
ex Rel. Lu v. Ou, 368 F.3d 773 (7th Cir. 2004). |
