|
Public Act 097-0978
|
| HB4190 Enrolled | LRB097 15181 JDS 60281 b |
|
|
AN ACT concerning State government.
|
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, |
represented in the General Assembly:
|
Section 5. The Illinois False Claims Act is amended by |
changing Section 4 as follows:
|
(740 ILCS 175/4) (from Ch. 127, par. 4104)
|
Sec. 4. Civil actions for false claims.
|
(a) Responsibilities of the Attorney General and the |
Department of
State Police. The Attorney General or the |
Department of State Police shall diligently investigate
a civil |
violation under Section 3. If the Attorney General finds that a |
person violated or is violating Section 3, the Attorney General |
may bring a civil action under this Section
against the person.
|
The State shall receive an amount for reasonable expenses |
that the court finds to have been necessarily incurred by the |
Attorney General, including reasonable attorneys' fees and |
costs. All such expenses, fees, and costs shall be awarded |
against the defendant. The court may award amounts from the |
proceeds of an action or settlement that it considers |
appropriate to any governmental entity or program that has been |
adversely affected by a defendant. The Attorney General, if |
necessary, shall direct the State Treasurer to make a |
disbursement of funds as provided in court orders or settlement |
|
agreements. |
(b) Actions by private persons.
|
(1) A person may bring a civil action
for a violation |
of Section 3 for the person and for the State. The action
|
shall be brought in the name of the State. The action may |
be dismissed
only if the court and the Attorney General |
give written consent to the
dismissal and their reasons for |
consenting.
|
(2) A copy of the complaint and written disclosure of |
substantially all
material evidence and information the |
person possesses shall be served on
the State. The |
complaint shall be filed in camera, shall remain under seal
|
for at least 60 days, and shall not be served on the |
defendant until the
court so orders. The State may elect to |
intervene and proceed with the
action within 60 days after |
it receives both the complaint and the material
evidence |
and information.
|
(3) The State may, for good cause shown, move the court |
for extensions
of the time during which the complaint |
remains under seal under paragraph
(2). Any such motions |
may be supported by affidavits or other submissions
in |
camera. The defendant shall not be required to respond to |
any complaint
filed under this Section until 20 days after |
the complaint is unsealed and
served upon the defendant.
|
(4) Before the expiration of the 60-day period or any |
extensions
obtained under paragraph (3), the State shall:
|
|
(A) proceed with the action, in which case the |
action shall be
conducted by the State; or
|
(B) notify the court that it declines to take over |
the action, in which
case the person bringing the |
action shall have the right to conduct the action.
|
(5) When a person brings an action under this |
subsection (b), no person
other than the State may |
intervene or bring a related action based on the
facts |
underlying the pending action.
|
(c) Rights of the parties to Qui Tam actions.
|
(1) If the State proceeds
with the action, it shall |
have the primary responsibility for prosecuting
the |
action, and shall not be bound by an act of the person |
bringing the
action. Such person shall have the right to |
continue as a party to the
action, subject to the |
limitations set forth in paragraph (2).
|
(2)(A) The State may dismiss the action |
notwithstanding the objections
of the person initiating |
the action if the person has been notified by the
State of |
the filing of the motion and the court has provided the |
person
with an opportunity for a hearing on the motion.
|
(B) The State may settle the action with the defendant |
notwithstanding
the objections of the person initiating |
the action if the court determines,
after a hearing, that |
the proposed settlement is fair, adequate, and reasonable
|
under all the circumstances. Upon a showing of good cause, |
|
such hearing
may be held in camera.
|
(C) Upon a showing by the State that unrestricted |
participation during
the course of the litigation by the |
person initiating the action would
interfere with or unduly |
delay the State's prosecution of the case, or
would be |
repetitious, irrelevant, or for purposes of harassment, |
the court
may, in its discretion, impose limitations on the |
person's participation,
such as:
|
(i) limiting the number of witnesses the person may |
call:
|
(ii) limiting the length of the testimony of such |
witnesses;
|
(iii) limiting the person's cross-examination of |
witnesses; or
|
(iv) otherwise limiting the participation by the |
person in the
litigation.
|
(D) Upon a showing by the defendant that unrestricted |
participation
during
the course of the litigation by the |
person initiating the action would be
for purposes of |
harassment or would cause the defendant undue burden or
|
unnecessary expense, the court may limit the participation |
by the person in
the litigation.
|
(3) If the State elects not to proceed with the action, |
the person who
initiated the action shall have the right to |
conduct the action. If the
State so requests, it shall be |
served with copies of all pleadings filed in
the action and |
|
shall be supplied with copies of all deposition transcripts
|
(at the State's expense). When a person proceeds with the |
action, the
court, without limiting the status and rights |
of the person initiating the
action, may nevertheless |
permit the State to intervene at a later date upon
a |
showing of good cause.
|
(4) Whether or not the State proceeds with the action, |
upon a showing by
the State that certain actions of |
discovery by the person initiating the
action would |
interfere with the State's investigation or prosecution of |
a
criminal or civil matter arising out of the same facts, |
the court may stay
such discovery for a period of not more |
than 60 days. Such a showing shall
be conducted in camera. |
The court may extend the 60-day period upon a
further |
showing in camera that the State has pursued the criminal |
or civil
investigation or proceedings with reasonable |
diligence and any proposed
discovery in the civil action |
will interfere with the ongoing criminal or
civil |
investigation or proceedings.
|
(5) Notwithstanding subsection (b), the State may |
elect to pursue its
claim through any alternate remedy |
available to the State, including any
administrative |
proceeding to determine a civil money penalty. If any such
|
alternate remedy is pursued in another proceeding, the |
person initiating
the action shall have the same rights in |
such proceeding as such person
would have had if the action |
|
had continued under this Section. Any finding
of fact or |
conclusion of law made in such other proceeding that has |
become
final shall be conclusive on all parties to an |
action under this Section.
For purposes of the preceding |
sentence, a finding or conclusion is final if
it has been |
finally determined on appeal to the appropriate court, if |
all
time for filing such an appeal with respect to the |
finding or conclusion
has expired, or if the finding or |
conclusion is not subject to judicial review.
|
(d) Award to Qui Tam plaintiff.
|
(1) If the State proceeds with an
action brought by a |
person under subsection (b), such person shall, subject
to |
the second sentence of this paragraph, receive at least 15% |
but not more
than 25% of the proceeds of the action or |
settlement of the claim,
depending upon the extent to which |
the person substantially contributed to
the prosecution of |
the action. Where the action is one which the court
finds |
to be based primarily on disclosures of specific |
information (other
than information provided by the person |
bringing the action) relating to
allegations or |
transactions in a criminal, civil, or administrative
|
hearing, in a legislative, administrative, or Auditor |
General's report,
hearing, audit, or investigation, or |
from the news media, the court may award
such sums as it |
considers appropriate, but in no case more than 10% of the
|
proceeds, taking into account the significance of the |
|
information and the
role of the person bringing the action |
in advancing the case to litigation.
Any payment to a |
person under the first or second sentence of this
paragraph |
(1) shall be made from the proceeds. Any such person shall |
also
receive an amount for reasonable expenses which the |
court finds to have
been necessarily incurred, plus |
reasonable attorneys' fees and costs.
The State shall also |
receive an amount for reasonable expenses which the
court |
finds to have been necessarily incurred by the Attorney |
General,
including reasonable attorneys' fees and costs. |
All such expenses, fees, and costs shall be awarded
against |
the defendant. The court may award amounts from the |
proceeds of an action or settlement that it considers |
appropriate to any governmental entity or program that has |
been adversely affected by a defendant. The Attorney |
General, if necessary, shall direct the State Treasurer to |
make a disbursement of funds as provided in court orders or |
settlement agreements.
|
(2) If the State does not proceed with an action under |
this Section, the
person bringing the action or settling |
the claim shall receive an amount
which the court decides |
is reasonable for collecting the civil penalty and
damages. |
The amount shall be not less than 25% and not more than 30% |
of
the proceeds of the action or settlement and shall be |
paid out of such
proceeds. Such person shall also receive |
an amount for reasonable expenses
which the court finds to |
|
have been necessarily incurred, plus reasonable
attorneys' |
fees and costs. All such expenses, fees, and costs shall be
|
awarded against the defendant. The court may award amounts |
from the proceeds of an action or settlement that it |
considers appropriate to any governmental entity or |
program that has been adversely affected by a defendant. |
The Attorney General, if necessary, shall direct the State |
Treasurer to make a disbursement of funds as provided in |
court orders or settlement agreements.
|
(3) Whether or not the State proceeds with the action, |
if the court finds
that the action was brought by a person |
who planned and initiated the violation
of Section 3 upon |
which the action was brought, then the court may, to the
|
extent the court considers appropriate, reduce the share of |
the proceeds of
the action which the person would otherwise |
receive under paragraph (1) or
(2) of this subsection (d), |
taking into account the role of that person in
advancing |
the case to litigation and any relevant circumstances |
pertaining
to the violation. If the person bringing the |
action is convicted of
criminal conduct arising from his or |
her role in the violation of Section
3, that person shall |
be dismissed from the civil action and shall not
receive |
any share of the proceeds of the action. Such dismissal |
shall not
prejudice the right of the State to continue the |
action, represented by the Attorney General.
|
(4) If the State does not proceed with the action and |
|
the person
bringing the action conducts the action, the |
court may award to the
defendant its reasonable attorneys' |
fees and expenses if the defendant
prevails in the action |
and the court finds that the claim of the person
bringing |
the action was clearly frivolous, clearly vexatious, or |
brought
primarily for purposes of harassment.
|
(e) Certain actions barred.
|
(1) No court shall have jurisdiction over an
action |
brought by a former or present member of the Guard under |
subsection
(b) of this Section against a member of the |
Guard arising out of such
person's service in the Guard.
|
(2)(A) No court shall have jurisdiction over an action |
brought under
subsection (b) against a member of the |
General Assembly, a member of the
judiciary, or an exempt |
official if the action is based on evidence or
information |
known to the State when the action was brought.
|
(B) For purposes of this paragraph (2), "exempt |
official" means any of
the following officials in State |
service: directors of departments
established under the |
Civil Administrative Code of Illinois, the Adjutant
|
General, the Assistant Adjutant General, the Director of |
the State
Emergency Services and Disaster Agency, members |
of the boards and
commissions, and all other positions |
appointed by the Governor by and with
the consent of the |
Senate.
|
(3) In no event may a person bring an action under |
|
subsection (b) which
is based upon allegations or |
transactions which are the subject of a civil
suit or an |
administrative civil money penalty proceeding in which the |
State
is already a party.
|
(4)(A) The court shall dismiss an action or claim under |
this Section, unless opposed by the State, if substantially |
the same allegations or transactions as alleged in the |
action or claim were publicly disclosed: No court shall |
have jurisdiction over an action under this
Section
based |
upon the public disclosure of allegations or transactions |
(i) in a
criminal, civil, or administrative |
hearing in which the State or its agent is a party; , |
(ii) in a State legislative, State
administrative, |
or Auditor General, or other State General's report, |
hearing, audit, or
investigation; , or |
(iii) from the news media, |
unless the action is brought by the
Attorney General or the |
person bringing the action is an original source of
the |
information.
|
(B) For purposes of this paragraph (4), "original |
source" means an
individual who either (i) prior to a |
public disclosure under subparagraph (A) of this paragraph |
(4), has voluntarily disclosed to the State the information |
on which allegations or transactions in a claim are based, |
or (ii) has knowledge that is independent of and materially |
adds to the publicly disclosed allegations or |
|
transactions, has direct and independent knowledge of the |
information on
which the allegations are based and who has |
voluntarily provided the
information to the State before |
filing an action under this Section which
is based on the |
information.
|
(f) State not liable for certain expenses. The State is not |
liable for
expenses which a person incurs in bringing an action |
under this Section.
|
(g) Relief from retaliatory actions. |
(1) In general, any employee, contractor, or agent |
shall be is entitled to all relief necessary to make that |
employee, contractor, or agent whole, if that employee, |
contractor, or agent is discharged, demoted, suspended, |
threatened,
harassed, or in any other manner discriminated |
against in the terms and
conditions of employment because |
of lawful acts done
by the employee, contractor, or agent |
on behalf of the employee, contractor, or agent, or |
associated others in furtherance of an action under this |
Section or other efforts to stop one or more violations of |
this Act. |
(2) Relief under paragraph (1) shall include |
reinstatement with the same seniority status that the |
employee, contractor, or agent
would have had but for the |
discrimination, 2 times the amount of back pay,
interest on |
the back pay, and compensation for any special damages |
sustained
as a result of the discrimination, including |