Victaulic Co. v. United States

Issue: (1) Whether a qui tam relator's complaint under the False Claims Act satisfies Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 9(b) by alleging nothing more than the opportunity for fraud, as held by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 3d Circuit, or whether Rule 9(b) instead requires allegations of actual false claims, as held by the U.S. Courts of Appeals for the 4th, 6th, 8th, and 11th Circuits, or allegations of particular details of a scheme paired with reliable indicia of a false claim, as held by the U.S. Courts of Appeals for the 1st, 5th, 7th, 9th, 10th, and D.C. Circuits; and (2) whether an "obligation" under the False Claims Act includes contingent duties that arise only after the exercise of discretion by government actors, so that an alleged failure to pay contingent marking duties is actionable as a knowing and improper avoidance of an obligation to pay the government.