What are Civil Investigative Demands under the False Claims Act?
The 1986 amendments to the FCA equipped the Civil Division with a powerful investigative device patterned upon the Civil Investigative Demand authority long available to the Antitrust Division. Several dimensions of this authority bear particular notice. First, Civil Investigative Demands (“CIDs”) under Section 3733 can consist of (a) a request for the production of documents; (b) a demand for oral or deposition testimony; (c) service of interrogatories requiring written response; and (d) any combination of these devices. Consequently, the CID is a much more potent device than most administrative subpoenas, which usually are limited to requesting documents. Second, CIDs can be utilized until DOJ files a complaint or until it declines or enters a qui tam. Therefore, the government is in the enviable position of being able to conduct investigative discovery prior to any ability of the potential defendant to conduct its own discovery. Finally, one important way in which CIDs differ from a
