Supreme Court Leaves Dismissal in Place
As is customary, the Supreme Court offered no explanation for declining the case.
Attorney Warner Mendenhall of Mendenhall Law Group, representing USN4U, expressed frustration, highlighting the extensive resources invested. “We wish the court had recognized the significant effort relators put into these cases,” Mendenhall told Law360. “To have your legs taken out from under you after hundreds of hours and tens of thousands of dollars is deeply disappointing.”
Discovery Reveals $1.3 Million Overpayment
The lawsuit traces back to 2017, when USN4U alleged Wolf Creek intentionally inflated labor estimates. After the government declined to intervene in 2019, the district court dismissed the case in 2020 for failure to state a claim. Two years later, the Sixth Circuit reversed and remanded for discovery.
During fact and expert discovery between June 2022 and August 2023, USN4U reported incurring hundreds of attorney hours and tens of thousands in expert costs. The findings suggested that while Wolf Creek billed for 45,798 labor hours across 658 jobs, it had actually incurred only 22,929 hours, resulting in $1.3 million in overpayments by the government.
