The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday refused to weigh in on a lawsuit alleging that a NASA contractor inflated labor costs, leaving intact the Sixth Circuit and lower court dismissals after the federal government opted not to intervene.
Whistleblower Seeks Relief After Years of Legal Battle
Ohio-based USN4U LLC, owned by a former Wolf Creek Federal Services employee, petitioned the high court to revisit the Sixth Circuit’s ruling. The appeals court had upheld the dismissal of USN4U’s False Claims Act lawsuit, which claimed Wolf Creek overcharged the government for labor under contracts at the NASA Glenn Research Facility in Cleveland.
USN4U argued the Sixth Circuit’s decision clashed with the Supreme Court’s 2023 Polansky ruling, which emphasized that district courts must consider a whistleblower’s “substantial time and money” commitment before dismissing a case. The company also contended the appellate court improperly sanctioned interference with prosecutorial discretion, violating the U.S. Constitution’s separation of powers.
