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US Supreme Court turns away Eli Lilly's challenge to whistleblower law
The justices rejected Lilly’s constitutional challenge to the whistleblower law, leaving intact a judgment that tripled a $61 million jury award.
- On Monday, the Supreme Court rejected Eli Lilly's challenge to the Civil War-era False Claims Act, leaving intact a lower court's ruling that upheld a $183 million judgment against the drugmaker for defrauding Medicaid.
- Congress passed the False Claims Act, known as Lincoln's Law, in 1863 to combat fraud against the Union Army, allowing private citizens to file lawsuits on behalf of the government through a "qui tam" mechanism.
- Whistleblower Ronald Streck sued Lilly in 2014, alleging the company understated revenue from wholesalers to reduce Medicaid rebate payments; a federal jury in Chicago found the company liable, resulting in a $183 million award.
- Lilly argued the law violates the Constitution by granting executive power to private citizens without meaningful oversight, with their lawyers writing, "None of that is consistent with our constitutional structure."
- Federal recoveries from False Claims Act cases topped $6.8 billion in the 2025 fiscal year, with whistleblowers awarded more than $330 million, while whistleblowers filed a record 979 lawsuits in fiscal 2024, according to Justice Department data.
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Justices Deny Eli Lilly's Qui Tam Constitutional Challenge
The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday declined to review Eli Lilly's $183 million trial loss to a whistleblower who claimed the drugmaker knowingly defrauded the government by underpaying Medicaid drug rebates.
·New York, United States
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US Supreme Court turns away Eli Lilly's challenge to whistleblower law
The U.S. Supreme Court declined on Monday to hear a challenge by drugmaker Eli Lilly to a Civil War-era whistleblower law that has recovered billions of dollars by allowing private individuals to bring fraud lawsuits on behalf of the federal government.
·United Kingdom
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Coverage Details
Total News Sources8
Leaning Left4Leaning Right0Center4Last UpdatedBias Distribution50% Left, 50% Center
Bias Distribution
- 50% of the sources lean Left, 50% of the sources are Center
50% Center
L 50%
C 50%
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