On September 11, 1998, WLF filed a brief with the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit urging it to uphold a district court decision that dismissed a qui tam lawsuit under the False Claims Act (FCA) for lack of standing. Under the qui tam provisions of the FCA, a private citizen is authorized to file a lawsuit against a company if the plaintiff believes that the company has submitted a false claim for goods or services to the government, and to receive a “bounty” of up to 30 percent of the award or settlement. WLF argued in its brief that plaintiffs cannot bring such suits because they lack standing under Article III of the Constitution as interpreted by the Supreme Court. The plaintiffs suffer no economic or other injury by the allegedly false claims made by the companies, and hence, federal courts lack jurisdiction to hear the case
