United States Tenth Circuit

In a qui tam action against defendant-oil and gas producer for defrauding the federal government by underpaying royalties for federal offshore oil leases, a ruling determining that the district court lacked subject matter jurisdiction under the False Claims Act is reversed where the transfer of information between a federal employee and a state government auditor who is under a duty of confidentiality is not a public disclosure, and therefore does not deprive the courts of jurisdiction.

Appellate Information

• Decided 09/10/2008
• Published 09/11/2008

Judges

• McCONNELL, Circuit Judge., Before McCONNELL, SEYMOUR and HOLMES, Circuit Judges.

Court

• United States Tenth Circuit

Counsel

• For Appellant:
  
• Sean Connelly, Reilly Pozner, LLP, Denver, CO (Michael S. Porter, The Law Firm of Michael S. Porter, Wheat Ridge, CO and Richard C. LaFond, Richard C. LaFond, P.C., Denver, CO, with him on the briefs), for Plaintiffs-Appellants., Charles W. Scarborough, Office of the United States Attorney, Washington, D.C. (Troy A. Eid, Peter D. Keisler, and Douglas N. Letter, with him on the brief), for Amicus Curiae.


• For Appellees:
  
• Marie R. Yeates, Vinson & Elkins L.L.P., Houston, TX (Penelope E. Nicholson and Abigail W. Giraud, Vinson & Elkins L.L.P., Houston, TX and Scott S. Barker, Marcy G. Glenn, Gregory E. Goldberg, Danielle R. Voorhees, Holland & Hart L.L.P., Denver, CO, with her on the brief), for Defendant-Appellee.