US v. United Tech. Corp., 08-4256
Government's suit against maker of fighter jet engines for reimbursement under the False Claims Act
US v. United Tech. Corp., 08-4256, concerned a suit filed by the United States against United Technologies under the False Claims Act and common law, seeking reimbursement for manipulating cost estimates to convince the Air Force to award the company a large share of the work to make fighter jet engines.
The court affirmed the district court's finding of liability in concluding that defendant violated sections 3729(a)(1) and 3729(a)(2), by submitting fraudulent invoices to the government. However, the court reversed the district court's conclusion that defendant's conduct caused no damages, and instructed that on remand, the district court should calculate what the government eventually paid each year, what it should have paid each year based on what the government received, then take the difference between the two. The court also reversed and remanded the district court's ruling that the government's administrative proceedings precluded it from raising its common law claims.
Related Link:
- Read the Sixth Circuit's Full Decision in US v. United Tech. Corp., 08-4256