A recent Texas Lawyer story by Marcia Coyle, “False Claims Act Cases Are Piled Up at SCOTUS: What to Watch,” reports that the U.S. Supreme Court terms opens with several issues to be addressed by the nation’s highest court. Among the issues is attorney fee awards in False Claim Act litigation. The case under SCOTUS review:
U.S. ex rel. Grynberg v. Agave Energy Co. arrives at the high court after two decades of litigation. The issue before the justices is whether the lower court had authority to award $17 million in legal fees to the defendant after deciding that the whistleblower’s claims were barred by a certain provision that can block a suit from someone who was not the first to bring the claims. Ronald Barkley of Denver’s Anderson Barkley represents Jack Grynberg. Michael Beatty of Denver’s Beatty & Wozniak is counsel to Agave.