Hyatt v. Northrop Corp.

80 F.3d 1425, 1996 WL 167648
CourtCourt of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
DecidedApril 11, 1996
DocketNos. 94-55578, 94-55638
StatusPublished
Cited by6 cases

This text of 80 F.3d 1425 (Hyatt v. Northrop Corp.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Hyatt v. Northrop Corp., 80 F.3d 1425, 1996 WL 167648 (9th Cir. 1996).

Opinion

T.G. NELSON, Circuit Judge:

OVERVIEW

Michael A. Hyatt, a former Northrop Corporation (Northrop) employee, brought suit against Northrop. Hyatt’s claims included a qui tam action for violation of the False Claims Act (FCA) (31 U.S.C. § 3729 et seq.), a private action for violation of the FCA discharged employee protection provision (31 U.S.C. § 3730(h)), and four state law causes of action, including an action for wrongful discharge in violation of public policy and intentional infliction of emotional distress. The district court dismissed Hyatt’s qui tam claim with prejudice and granted summary judgment for Northrop on Hyatt’s FCA discharged employee protection claim. Hyatt proceeded to trial on his state law causes of action and received a judgment against Northrop on his state wrongful discharge claim.

Hyatt timely appeals the district court’s dismissal of his qui tam claim, and grant of summary judgment for Northrop on his FCA [1427]*1427discharged employee protection claim, Northrop cross-appeals the district court’s denial of its summary judgment motion seeking dismissal of Hyatt’s state wrongful discharge claim. We have jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1291, and we affirm in part, reverse in part and remand.

FACTS AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY

A. The FCA Claim

Michael A. Hyatt was employed by Northrop from August 1981 until he was discharged on May 13, 1986. Hyatt filed the complaint in this case on October 3, 1986. On his own behalf, he alleged state law claims for wrongful discharge in violation of public policy and intentional infliction of emotional distress. On behalf of the Government, as a qui tam plaintiff, he asserted a cause of action against Northrop under the FCA.

After investigating the complaint, the Government informed the district court that it declined to intervene in the case to pursue the FCA claim pleaded by Hyatt. The Government also asked the court to dismiss the claim on the ground that it was barred by the “prior government knowledge” defense of the FCA, 31 U.S.C. § 3730(b)(4)(1982).

The district court dismissed Hyatt’s FCA qui tam claim with prejudice, holding that the 1986 amendments to the FCA1 did not apply retrospectively, that the Government had prior knowledge of the information underlying Hyatt’s claims before his complaint was filed and that, because of the “prior government knowledge” defense, the court lacked jurisdiction over Hyatt’s FCA claims.

B. The FCA Discharged Employee Protection Provision

At the time that Hyatt’s original complaint was filed, the FCA did not include a discharged employee protection provision. However, the October 1986 amendments to the Act added subsection 3730(h), which provides a cause of action for employees who are retaliated against for actions taken “in furtherance of’ a FCA action. 31 U.S.C. § 3730(h) (1986).

In 1987, Hyatt brought another action which added a claim under the new FCA discharged employee protection provision. The district court granted Northrop’s motion for summary judgment on the FCA discharged employee protection claim, holding that § 3730(h) did not apply “to Northrop’s termination of Hyatt, because Northrop’s action was taken before the new law took effect.”

C.After-Acquired Evidence of Resume Fraud and the Wrongful Discharge Claim

On June 15, 1981, Hyatt completed an employment application for an engineering position at Northrop. The application form requested that the applicant list “all jobs during the past ten years” and to “account for all periods of military service and unemployment.” It required that the applicant certify the truth of the information provided and informed the applicant that he would be “subject to dismissal at any time” if Northrop discovered that anything on the application was untrue.

During the discovery phase of the present case, Northrop discovered that Hyatt had made false representations on his employment application regarding his employment history. Northrop moved for partial summary judgment on Hyatt’s state wrongful discharge claim, arguing that Hyatt’s false representations on his employment application should bar his recovery. The district court denied Northrop’s motion.

The case proceeded to trial on Hyatt’s state claims for wrongful discharge and intentional infliction of emotional distress. On March 15, 1994, the jury ruled in Hyatt’s favor on his state wrongful discharge claim, and found for Northrop on Hyatt’s claim of intentional infliction of emotional distress.

On April 14, 1994, Hyatt filed an appeal of the district court’s dismissal of his FCA qui tam claim and grant of summary judgment for Northrop on his FCA discharged employ[1428]*1428ee protection claim. On April 28, 1994, Northrop filed a cross-appeal of the district court’s denial of its motion for partial summary judgment on Hyatt’s state law claim for wrongful discharge.

STANDARD OF REVIEW

A district court’s decision on whether a statute may be applied retrospectively is a question of law to be reviewed de novo. Chenault v. United States Postal Service, 37 F.3d 535, 537 (9th Cir.1994). A district court’s interpretation of state law is reviewed under the same independent de novo standard. Salve Regina College v. Russell, 499 U.S. 225, 231, 111 S.Ct. 1217, 1221, 113 L.Ed.2d 190 (1991).

ANALYSIS

A. Application of the Revised Qtd Tam Provisions to a Complaint Filed Prior to Enactment of the 1986 Amendments

At issue in the present case is whether two specific provisions of the 1986 amendments to the FCA, 31 U.S.C. §§ 3730(e)(4)(A) and 3730(b)(2), can be applied retrospectively to a ease in which the complaint was filed, and all the conduct at issue occurred, prior to the enactment of the amendments.

In Landgraf v. USI Film Products, — U.S. -, —, 114 S.Ct. 1483, 1505, 128 L.Ed.2d 229 (1994), the United States Supreme Court set out a three-step analysis to be used in determining whether “a federal statute enacted after the events in suit” should be applied retrospectively. First, the court must “determine whether Congress has expressly prescribed the statute’s proper reach. If Congress has done so ... there is no need to resort to judicial default rules.” Id.

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80 F.3d 1425, 1996 WL 167648, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/hyatt-v-northrop-corp-ca9-1996.