a provision of the Federal False Claims Act that allows private citizens, also known as whistleblowers, to bring a lawsuit on behalf of the government against persons who use government funds in a fraudulent way.
Short for qui tam action, it means that U.S. citizens may take legal action on behalf of their government, such as filing lawsuits. For example, a whistleblower who works for a company that provides services to the Federal Government under contract, may sue the company in court under the False Claims Act for defrauding the Federal Government. Better yet, the whistleblower will receive a fair share of monetary damages awarded to the Federal Government. Some states have passed False Claims Act equivalents, to deter and punish for fraud against state governments.
Qui tam is an abbreviation from the Latin phrase “qui tam pro domino rege quam pro sic ipso in hoc parte sequiturâ€, meaning “who as well for the king as for himself sues in this matterâ€. A qui tam action allows private citizens to file a lawsuit in the name of the United States government charging fraud by contractors and others who receive or use government funds.
Through qui tam provisions in the Federal Civil False Claims Act, citizens can initiate lawsuits against businesses or agents who have dealt fraudulently with the U.S. government. Individuals who file qui tam lawsuits are referred to as whistleblowers.
a secret filing in federal court by a private citizen on behalf of the United States that is supposed to be, in effect, a whistle-blower action aimed at proving allegations of wrongdoing by government contractors or officials
an abbreviation of the Latin phrase “qui tam pro domino rege quam pro sic ipso in hoc parte sequiturâ€, meaning “who as well for the king as for himself sues in this matterâ€. A qui tam action allows private citizens to file lawsuits in the name of the United States government charging fraud by those who receive or use government funds. The private citizen may share in the reparations the guilty are ordered to pay.
Qui tam is a provision 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 on the United States federal government to bring suit on behalf of the government. 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." 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.