United States of America v. The Boeing Company

• Court: District Court, W.D. Washington
• Decided: January 31, 2024
• Docket: 2:19-cv-00600
• Status: Unknown

Opinion

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6 7 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 8 WESTERN DISTRICT OF WASHINGTON AT SEATTLE 9 10 UNITED STATES OF AMERICA ex rel. CASE NO. 2:19-CV-00600-LK 11 AHMED BASHIR, ORDER UNSEALING CASE AND 12 Plaintiff, DIRECTING SERVICE OF v. SECOND AMENDED 13 COMPLAINT THE BOEING COMPANY et al., 14 Defendants. 15 16 This matter comes before the Court on the Government’s Third Notice of Election to 17 Decline Intervention. Dkt. No. 99. Because the Government has declined to intervene in this qui 18 tam action, 31 U.S.C. § 3730(b)(4)(B), and at least 60 days have elapsed since Plaintiff-Relator 19 Ahmed Bashir filed his Second Amended Complaint, id. § 3730(b)(2), the Court orders the 20 following: 21 1. Relator’s Second Amended Complaint shall be unsealed; 22 2. Relator shall serve a copy of the Second Amended Complaint, this Order, and the 23 Government’s Third Notice of Election to Decline Intervention on Defendants; 24 1 3. the parties shall serve all pleadings and motions filed in this action, including 2 supporting memoranda, upon the Government, and the Government may order any deposition 3 transcripts at its own expense, id. § 3730(c)(3); 4 4. the Government may seek dismissal of Relator’s action or claims notwithstanding 5 Relator’s objections if Relator has been notified by the Government of its motion and the Court

6 has provided Relator with an opportunity for a hearing on the motion, id. § 3730(c)(2)(A); 7 5. the Government may settle the action with Defendants notwithstanding Relator’s 8 objections if the Court determines, after a hearing, that the proposed settlement is fair, adequate, 9 and reasonable under all the circumstances, id. § 3730(c)(2)(B); 10 6. the Government may, for good cause shown, intervene in this action at any time, 11 id. § 3730(c)(3); 12 7. the parties shall serve all notices of appeal on the Government; and 13 8. all orders of the Court shall be sent to the Government’s counsel of record. 14 In its notice declining to intervene, the Government “respectfully refers the Court to 31

15 U.S.C. § 3730(b)(1)” and “requests that should either Relator or Defendant(s) propose that this 16 action be dismissed, settled, or otherwise discontinued, this Court provide the United States with 17 notice and an opportunity to be heard before ruling or granting its approval.” Dkt. No. 99 at 2. 18 Section 3730(b)(1) provides that a qui tam suit “may be dismissed only if the court and the 19 Attorney General give written consent to the dismissal and their reasons for consenting.” However, 20 Section 3730(b)(1)’s mandatory consent provision does not apply to court-ordered or other 21 involuntary dismissals. United States ex rel. Killingsworth v. Northrop Corp., 25 F.3d 715, 722 22 n.5 (9th Cir. 1994); accord United States ex rel. Mobin v. Desert Constr., 87 F.3d 1325, 1996 WL 23 328803, at *4 (9th Cir. 1996). With respect to voluntary dismissals and settlements, the mandatory 24 consent provision applies only during Section 3730(b)(2)’s initial sixty-day intervention period 1 plus any good-cause extension under subsection (b)(3). United States v. Northrop Corp., 59 F.3d 2 953, 959 (9th Cir. 1995). This window has now closed. Thus, absent subsection (c)(3) intervention, 3 the Government’s approval of any future settlement is no longer mandatory. Nor are the parties 4 required to obtain the Government’s consent before voluntarily dismissing this action. The 5 Government retains the right to object to a proposed settlement only upon a showing of good cause.

6 See id.; Killingsworth, 25 F.3d at 723–24; U.S. ex rel. Kelly v. Boeing Co., 9 F.3d 743, 753–54 7 (9th Cir. 1993). The Court will therefore provide the Government with an opportunity to show 8 good cause (as applicable) and be heard should either Relator or Defendant(s) propose that this 9 action be dismissed, settled, or otherwise discontinued.1 10 Dated this 31st day of January, 2024. 11 A 12 Lauren King United States District Judge 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 1 As in prior orders, see, e.g., Dkt. No. 74 at 2, this Order provides a mechanism for notice to the Government by 24 requiring the parties to serve all pleadings and motions on the Government.