Who can be a “qui tam” plaintiff?
If the fraud has not already been publicly disclosed, any person may bring a qui tam action regardless of whether he or she has “direct” or first-hand knowledge of the fraud. Thus, where there has been no public disclosure, an employee that learns from a colleague of fraud by his or her employer at work may bring a qui tam action, even if the qui tam plaintiff personally has no first-hand knowledge. If the fraud has already been publicly disclosed, a person may still bring a qui tam action if he or she has direct knowledge of the fraud, independent of the publicly disclosed information. Thus, if an employee personally observes or uncovers fraud by his or her employer, or another person or company, the employee may bring a qui tam action even if the information has already been publicly disclosed. What constitutes public disclosure? Obviously, information is publicly disclosed if it is printed or broadcast in the news media. However, public disclosure may also occur if the information h
