US Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit Tuesday ordered that Dish Network Corp. (Dish) must defend itself in a whistleblower False Claims Act lawsuit. The court found that a lower court decision to dismiss the case against Dish was wrong.

The suit against Dish was brought by Vermont National Telephone Co. (Vermont National) on behalf of the US government under the False Claims Act. The False Claims Act makes any person who knowingly submitted false claims to the government liable for double the government’s damages plus a penalty of $2,000 for each false claim. A qui tam action under the False Claims Act allows individuals or entities with evidence a party has defrauded the government to sue the wrongdoer party on behalf of the US government. 

Vermont National alleges that Dish defrauded the US government of $3.3 billion by manipulating Federal Communications Commission (FCC) rules and falsely certifying their eligibility for discounts on spectrum licenses through the use of fictional small businesses.

A lower court found that the action against Dish was barred by a government-action bar. The government-action bar prohibits plaintiffs from bringing a suit which contains allegations at the heart of another government civil or administrative suit. The DC Circuit reversed the lower court. The DC Circuit found that the allegations against Dish were sufficient to afford Dish “the opportunity to prepare a response and to warrant further judicial process.”