The U.S. Supreme Court’s (SCOTUS) June 2023 term was highlighted by a number of important decisions, including precedent changing cases concerning the False Claims Act (FCA). In two important decisions, SCOTUS decided a set of consolidated cases and an appeal from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit regarding the FCA. Justice Clarence Thomas delivered the court’s unanimous opinion in the consolidated cases, while Justice Elena Kagan delivered the court’s opinion in Polansky. Both of the opinions, discussed below, have important implications for any government contractor, construction included.

‘Schutte’ Requires Subjective Beliefs of Defendants

The first decision is Schutte v. SuperValu, Case No. 21-1326, and Proctor v. Safeway, Case No. 22-111. Writing for a unanimous court, Thomas emphasized the importance of a defendant’s subjective beliefs about committing fraud in applying the FCA’s knowledge requirement. In rejecting the government’s (and many private relators) argument, the court rejected the claim that a violation of the FCA exists if the defendant’s conduct was consistent with an “objectively reasonable” interpretation under the law. Instead, SCOTUS concluded that the violator must be found to have subjective intent, namely it knew that it was committing or intended to commit fraud or submit a false claim.

This content has been archived. It is available through our partners, LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law.

To view this content, please continue to their sites.

Not a Lexis Subscriber?
Subscribe Now

Not a Bloomberg Law Subscriber?
Subscribe Now

Why am I seeing this?

LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law are third party online distributors of the broad collection of current and archived versions of ALM's legal news publications. LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law customers are able to access and use ALM's content, including content from the National Law Journal, The American Lawyer, Legaltech News, The New York Law Journal, and Corporate Counsel, as well as other sources of legal information.

For questions call 1-877-256-2472 or contact us at [email protected]