Brennan ex rel. State v. Lonegan

186 A.3d 925, 454 N.J. Super. 613
CourtNew Jersey Superior Court Appellate Division
DecidedApril 27, 2018
DocketDOCKET NO. A–1767–16T3
StatusPublished
Cited by6 cases

This text of 186 A.3d 925 (Brennan ex rel. State v. Lonegan) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering New Jersey Superior Court Appellate Division primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Brennan ex rel. State v. Lonegan, 186 A.3d 925, 454 N.J. Super. 613 (N.J. Ct. App. 2018).

Opinion

HOFFMAN, J.A.D.

*616This case arises from the qui tam1 complaint filed by plaintiff William Brennan on behalf of the State, alleging defendant Steven Lonegan violated the New Jersey False Claims Act (FCA), N.J.S.A. 2A:32C-1 to -18, by submitting a false statement in a request for public campaign *927funds. Plaintiff appeals from a November 18, 2016 order granting summary judgment in favor of defendant. Defendant cross-appeals from an earlier order denying summary judgment based on standing and jurisdiction grounds. For the reasons that follow, we affirm the dismissal of plaintiff's complaint, but on different grounds than the trial court.2 Specifically, we affirm the grant of summary judgment because we hold plaintiff lacks standing to bring the FCA complaint.

Defendant was a candidate for governor in the 2009 New Jersey Republican primary election. Defendant applied for public campaign funds pursuant to the New Jersey Campaign Contributions and Expenditures Reporting Act (the Reporting Act), N.J.S.A. 19:44A-1 to -47. As part of that application, defendant filed a certification with the New Jersey Election Law Enforcement Commission (the Commission)3 verifying that "during the four years prior to the date upon which I became a candidate for nomination for election to the Office of Governor, I have not *617formed, assisted in the formation of, or am not now involved in any way in the management of an issue advocacy organization ...." The Commission approved defendant for public campaign funds and he began receiving funds in January 2009.

In February 2009, as the result of a newspaper article, the Commission authorized an investigation to determine if defendant "formed, participated in the formation of, or was in any way involved in the management of the Americans for Prosperity, an issue advocacy group." At that time, the Commission also temporarily suspended payment of public campaign funds to defendant. In March 2009, after completing its investigation, the Commission advised defendant that "no further action would be taken on the issue," and resumed defendant's receipt of public campaign funds.

On August 18, 2011, plaintiff filed his qui tam complaint, alleging defendant violated the FCA. On November 3, 2011, the trial court ordered the complaint unsealed after the State declined to intervene.

In July 2012, defendant filed his first motion for summary judgment, asserting both lack of standing and lack of subject matter jurisdiction. The judge assigned to the case heard oral argument; however, she did not decide the motion. Almost three years later, in January 2016, the motion was assigned to a different judge, who heard renewed oral argument. He then entered an order denying summary judgment, rejecting defendant's arguments regarding standing and jurisdiction. The trial judge found plaintiff had standing, reasoning his complaint was not entirely based on newspaper articles and provided more detailed allegations than the articles.

In October 2016, defendant filed a second motion for summary judgment. The trial court granted that motion, reasoning there were no disputed issues of material fact regarding whether defendant knowingly made a false representation that he *928did not form or manage an issue advocacy organization. *618Plaintiff appeals from the November 2016 order granting summary judgment in favor of defendant. Defendant cross-appeals from the January 2016 order denying summary judgment on the basis of standing and jurisdiction.

We first address defendant's cross-appeal, in which defendant argues plaintiff lacks standing to bring an FCA complaint because the Commission already investigated the claim, and plaintiff has no direct and independent knowledge of the alleged violation. Because we agree plaintiff lacks direct or independent knowledge of the alleged FCA violation, we affirm the grant of summary judgment on the grounds that plaintiff lacks standing to bring the FCA claim.

We review a ruling on summary judgment de novo, applying the same standard governing the trial court. Davis v. Brickman Landscaping, Ltd., 219 N.J. 395, 405, 98 A.3d 1173 (2014) (citations omitted). Thus, we consider "whether the competent evidential materials presented, when viewed in the light most favorable to the non-moving party, are sufficient to permit a rational factfinder to resolve the alleged disputed issue in favor of the non-moving party." Id. at 406, 98 A.3d 1173 (quoting Brill v. Guardian Life Ins. Co. of Am., 142 N.J. 520, 540, 666 A.2d 146 (1995) ). "If there is no genuine issue of material fact, we must then 'decide whether the trial court correctly interpreted the law.' " DepoLink Court Reporting & Litig. Support Servs. v. Rochman, 430 N.J. Super. 325, 333, 64 A.3d 579 (App. Div. 2013) (quoting Massachi v. AHL Servs., Inc., 396 N.J. Super. 486, 494, 935 A.2d 769 (App. Div. 2007) ). We review issues of law de novo and accord no deference to the trial judge's conclusions on issues of law. Nicholas v. Mynster, 213 N.J. 463, 478, 64 A.3d 536 (2013). Standing is a question of law we review de novo. Courier-Post Newspaper v. Cty.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
186 A.3d 925, 454 N.J. Super. 613, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/brennan-ex-rel-state-v-lonegan-njsuperctappdiv-2018.