Limits On 'Self-Help' Discovery In FCA Cases

By Tom McConville, Warrington Parker and Elizabeth Morgan (June 27, 2017, 10:31 AM EDT) -- As illustrated by a recent decision by a federal court in Massachusetts, it is not uncommon for an employee to take company documents that the employee believes will support a claim under the False Claims Act 31 U.S.C. 3729 et seq. To the consternation of employers, courts have allowed such activity. But as the U.S. District Court in Massachusetts found in Unum Group v. Loftus last December (No. 4:16 CV 40154 TSH, 2016 WL 7115967, at *4), this right to "self-help" is not unlimited. Where courts draw the line, however, is not uniform, as is set forth below....

Law360 is on it, so you are, too.

A Law360 subscription puts you at the center of fast-moving legal issues, trends and developments so you can act with speed and confidence. Over 200 articles are published daily across more than 60 topics, industries, practice areas and jurisdictions.


A Law360 subscription includes features such as

  • Daily newsletters
  • Expert analysis
  • Mobile app
  • Advanced search
  • Judge information
  • Real-time alerts
  • 450K+ searchable archived articles

And more!

Experience Law360 today with a free 7-day trial.

Start Free Trial

Already a subscriber? Click here to login

Hello! I'm Law360's automated support bot.

How can I help you today?

For example, you can type:
  • I forgot my password
  • I took a free trial but didn't get a verification email
  • How do I sign up for a newsletter?
Ask a question!