United States v. House of Ruth

983 F. Supp. 2d 43, 2013 WL 5754411, 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 153913

• Court: District Court, District of Columbia
• Decided: July 10, 2013
• Docket: Civil Action No. 2012-1775
• Status: Published

Opinion

FILED UNDER SEAL MEMORANDUM OPINION & ORDER

Dismissing the Case Pursuant to 31 U.S.C. § 3730(b)(1) without Prejudice to the United States

KETANJI BROWN JACKSON, United States District Judge

On November 11, 2012, the plaintiff brought this action on behalf of the United States and the District of Columbia, seeking to recover damages arising from false claims made by the defendants in violation of the Federal False Claims Act, 31 U.S.C. § 3729, and the District of Columbia False Claims Act, D.C. Code §§ 2-381.01. On June 27, 2013, plaintiff filed a notice of voluntary dismissal. (ECF No. 4.)

Such an action may only be dismissed if the court and the Attorney General give written consent to the dismissal and their reasons for consenting. 31 U.S.C. § 3730(b)(1). On June 27, 2013, the United States gave its consent to the dismissal of the action, but it failed to articulate its reasons for consenting as required by the statute. (ECF No. 5.) 1 Accordingly, on July 1, 2013, the court ordered the United States to show cause why the case should be dismissed. (See Minute Order of July 1, 2013.) On July 8, 2013, the United States responded that, along with the District of Columbia, it had investigated the plaintiffs allegations and deemed that it was not in the interest of the government to devote resources to pursue the litigation and informed plaintiffs counsel that it planned to decline to intervene in the matter. (U.S. Resp. to Order to Show Cause, ECF No. 7, at 1-2.)

Having now reviewed and considered plaintiffs voluntary dismissal and the government’s reasons for consenting to the dismissal, the court concludes that the requirements of 31 U.S.C. § 3730(b)(1) have been satisfied. Accordingly, the case is hereby dismissed without prejudice to the United States or the District of Columbia. Accordingly, it is hereby

ORDERED that the case is dismissed.

1 . The United States’ notice of consent to dismissal provided that the District of Columbia similarly consented to dismissal without prejudice to the District of Columbia. (ECF No. 5.)