Construction Managers May Be Liable under False Claims Act

摘要

The False Claims Act (PCA) is one of the most frequently discussed and controversial regulations within the construction industry. This statute, which is nearly 150 years old, traces its inception to Abraham Lincoln, who used it to deal with unscrupulous government contractors during the Civil War. Although some aspects of the FCA have changed over time, its fundamental workings have not. Anyone who believes that a government contractor has knowingly submitted false information to the government is entitled to sue the contractor on behalf of the government. If the plaintiff prevails, he or she shares with the government any monies collected from the contractor. While the vast majority of publicly reported FCA cases seem to involve defense contractors and Medicare providers, there have been a number of highly visible construction cases as well. Consider, for example, the recent case-United States v. Daniel, Mann, Johnson & Mendenhall. This case involved a contract for construction management (CM) services provided by Daniel, Mann, Johnson & Mendenhall (DMJM) to California State University at Northridge (CSUN). The action was brought on behalf of the United States by A. Amir Ali, who had previously provided CM services to CSUN.