While the Qui Tam lawsuit is a useful tool to fight fraud, there are situations when it is not. Here is a list of circumstances under which you should not try to file a Qui Tam suit:

• Claims against the government for its own waste or incompetence;
  
• Claims that are already the subject of a civil suit or administrative proceeding to which the government is already a party;
  
• Certain claims against members of the armed forces, members of Congress, members of the judiciary, or senior executive branch officials;
  
• Claims, records or statements made under the Internal Revenue Code of 1986;
  
• Claims involving mere mismanagement on the part of government contractors that do not rise to the level of knowingly-made false statements designed to get a claim paid; and
  
• Claims involving evidence of fraudulent activity that has been publicly disclosed, unless the employee or "relator" has direct and independent knowledge of these activities and provided the information to the government before filing suit.

To find out about filing a Qui Tam suit, see Filing a Whistleblower or "Qui Tam" Lawsuit. For a brief overview of the False Claims Act, see What Should I Do If I Suspect My Employer Is Cheating the Government? and Qui Tam Lawsuits Involve Any Form of Fraud Against the Government. For more information about where these cases come from, see Types of Conduct Giving Rises to a Qui Tam Lawsuit.

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(Reviewed 9-08)