Schindler Elevator Corp. v. United States ex rel. Kirk (2010)
- Docket
- 10-188
- Decided
- 2010-01-01
Summary
Question: May a whistleblower use information obtained through FOIA to allege violations of the federal False Claims Act by a government contractor? Conclusion: No. The Supreme Court reversed the lower court order in a decision by Justice Clarence Thomas. A written response to a FOIA request for records is a report within the meaning of the False Claims Act's disclosure bar, according to the majority. Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg authored a dissent, which was joined by Justices Stephen Breyer and Sonia Sotomayor. Ginsburg wrote that she would "affirm the Second Circuit's judgment as faithful to the text, context, purpose, and history of the FCA's public disclosure bar." Justice Elena Kagan took no part in consideration of the case.