United States Ex Rel. DRC, Inc. v. Custer

446 F. App'x 561

• Court: Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit
• Decided: September 15, 2011
• Docket: 10-1033, 10-1055, 10-2215
• Status: Unpublished

Opinion

Affirmed by unpublished PER CURIAM opinion.

Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit.

PER CURIAM:

In this qui tam action brought pursuant to the False Claims Act, 31 U.S.C.A. §§ 3729-3732 (West 2003 & Supp.2011), a jury returned a verdict of $3 million in favor of relators. The district court entered an order trebling the amount of damages and imposing penalties of $198,000 pursuant to 31 U.S.C.A. § 3729(a). The court also awarded rela-tors thirty percent of the damages and penalties awarded, in accordance with 31 U.S.C.A. § 3730(d)(2). In Nos. 10-1033 and 10-2215, Scott Custer and Joseph Morris, respectively, appeal this order. We have reviewed the record, the applicable statutes and case law, and the parties’ arguments on appeal. We conclude that the jury’s verdict is supported by evidence presented at trial and that the court properly assessed damages, penalties, and rela-tors’ statutory share. We therefore affirm.

The district court also entered orders awarding costs and attorney’s fees to rela-tors. In No. 10-1055, relators cross-appeal, arguing that the fee awarded to Kubli & Associates, P.C., was improperly calculated. We have reviewed the record and the district court’s orders and find no reversible error. We therefore affirm for the reasons stated by the district court. United States ex rel. DRC, Inc. v. Custer, United States ex rel. DRC, Inc. v. Custer Battles, LLC, United States ex rel. DRC, Inc. v. Morris, No. 1:04-cv-00199-TSE (filed Nov. 24, 2009, entered Nov. 25, 2009; filed August 6, 2010, entered August 9, 2010).

We dispense with oral argument because the facts and legal contentions are adequately presented in the materials before the court and argument would not aid the decisional process.

AFFIRMED.