FCA and public disclosure

Solomon brought a False Claims Act case allleging improper billing on the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter Project. The Fifth Circuit affirmed the dismissal of his claim under the “public disclosure bar,” examining three disclosures under this test: “We are not concerned . . . with the overall probability of someone inferring fraudulent activity from the public disclosures. The focus is on whether they could have made the inference.” Solomon v. Lockheed Martin Corp., No. 17-10046 (Dec. 19, 2017).