The Supreme Court ruled 8–1 that the U.S. Department of Justice is allowed to seek dismissal of a whistleblower lawsuit over the objection of a whistleblower who has a financial interest in the outcome of the lawsuit.
Justice Elena Kagan wrote the court’s majority opinion (pdf) in United States ex rel. Polansky v. Executive Health Resources Inc. (court file 21-1052). Justice Clarence Thomas filed a dissenting opinion.
The case goes back to 2012 when physician Jesse Polansky brought a lawsuit on behalf of the U.S. government regarding Executive Health Resources Inc., a subsidiary of UnitedHealth Group Inc. that assists hospitals and physicians in submitting bills to the government for covered services as part of federal healthcare programs such as Medicare. Polansky worked as a consultant for Executive Health, the respondent in the case….