The United States Supereme Court has rejected an appeal by Johnson & Johnson to stop a qui tam lawsuit brought by a Washington whistleblower.

Mark Eugene Duxbury filed a qui tam lawsuit against Johnson & Johnson’s Ortho Biotech Products unit in November 2003. The lawsuit alleges that kickbacks paid by the company drove up the cost of reimbursements under the federal Medicare program for the elderly and disabled. Johnson & Johnson appealed the lawsuit but the US Supreme Court rejected the appeal, allowing Duxbury to sue.

Ortho Biotech argued that Duxbury could not sue because similar allegations had come to light in a previous lawsuit. The court, however, found that Duxbury had met the requirements of the False Claims Act that he be an “original source” of the allegations. Duxbury provided the government with information before filing suit.

If you have information that could prove useful in a fraud suit against a corporation or contractor, you may be eligible to file for a whistleblower suit under the False Claims Act. Contact the Qui Tam lawyers of Tycko & Zavareei, LLP, by calling 202-973-0900 today.