What if the whistle blowers step away?


anonymous

Guest
If their are multiple original blowers that settle their individual claims and need to release from the whistle blower case, what happens to the suit if the government takes it? Do the lawyers then take the percentage of the penalty? I am being pressured by a lawyer to accept a relatively small settlement and not pursue a whistle blower. They do plan on going ahead with a coworker on it though. I’m troubled by this as the majority of the complaint comes from my evidence.
 


anonymous said:
If their are multiple original blowers that settle their individual claims and need to release from the whistle blower case, what happens to the suit if the government takes it? Do the lawyers then take the percentage of the penalty? I am being pressured by a lawyer to accept a relatively small settlement and not pursue a whistle blower. They do plan on going ahead with a coworker on it though. I’m troubled by this as the majority of the complaint comes from my evidence.
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If the whistle blower passes away or settles on employment issues and agrees to hold the employer harmless against future claims. In either case the suit is filed and goes its course. Any award would be divided among legal council remaining in the contest. It would be difficult to gain an award without key evidence. The outcome would be dependent on that as well.
 


Broadly speaking, the laws that provide financial rewards for whistleblowers each have some form of requirement that the whistleblower bring forth new information or analysis, and that the whistleblower report the wrongdoing within a certain time period after it happened. These “first-to-file” rules, non-public information requirements, and statutes of limitations, are different for different programs and often present complicated questions of law and fact, with many exceptions and caveats. Our law firm has compiled a list of informational resources relating to multiple whistleblowers and first-to-file issues that may be of interest to you: https://constantinecannon.com/tag/multiple-whistleblowers-and-first-to-file/.

The information contained herein is for informational purposes only and is not legal advice or a substitute for legal counsel. Online readers should not act upon this information without seeking professional counsel. If you would like more information, or would like to speak to a member of Constantine Cannon’s whistleblower lawyer team, please contact us for a Confidential Consultation: https://constantinecannon.com/practice/whistleblower/team/.
 


It sounds like your lawyer has what is called a "conflict of interest" between you and the co-worker's interests. You should try to get an independent opinion from another attorney. You can go forward with a False Claims Act whistleblower case with another attorney. You are not compelled under these circumstances to stick with existing counsel. Alternatively, you may want to raise the conflict of interest question with your existing attorney and see what the response is. And if you really think that there is a true conflict, you should ask another attorney about whether you should contact bar authorities.
 


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