On June 27, 2014, the D.C. Circuit vacated the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia’s hotly-debated opinion in United States ex rel. Barko v. Halliburton Co., making it clear that internal investigation communications are privileged “if one of the significant purposes of the internal investigation was to obtain or provide legal advice.”  The Circuit court noted that the privilege applies even if the internal investigation is conducted pursuant to a company compliance program required by statute or regulation, or is otherwise conducted pursuant to company policy.
Continue Reading D.C. Circuit Vacates Barko Ruling on Scope of Privilege in Internal Investigations

It is no secret that whistleblower complaints are on the rise. According to the SEC Office of the Whistleblower’s (OWB) recently released annual report, during the 2013 fiscal year, OWB received more than 3,200 whistleblower complaints, tips, and referrals—up from 3,001 in 2012 and just 334 in 2011 (the year OWB was created). Similarly, in fiscal year 2013, DOJ saw a record 752 qui tam complaints filed under the False Claims Act (FCA) whistleblower provision. Whistleblower awards are also on the rise. In fiscal year 2013, the DOJ recovered $3.8 billion in settlements and judgments based on the FCA. More than three quarters of the DOJ’s recovery—$2.9 billion—was related to whistleblower lawsuits, with whistleblowers receiving $345 million of the recovery. In September 2013, the SEC OWB paid more than $14 million to a single whistleblower. The SEC OWB also recently announced that it paid an additional $150,000 to the recipient of the first whistleblower award, for a total of more than $200,000. But not all whistleblowers receive large payouts, and many face retaliation for their actions. A recent Fourth Circuit decision makes the relatively light burden of proving retaliation more difficult. And an upcoming decision by the Second Circuit could affirm the lower court’s limitations on who can recover whistleblower awards.
Continue Reading Whistleblowers: Boom or Bust?