Cochise Consultancy, Inc. v. United States ex rel. Hunt

Decided May 13, 2019. Clarence Thomas delivered the opinion of the Court.

Docket 18-315 · 587 U.S. 262 (2019) · Cited 0 times

Holding

The limitations period in 31 U. S. C. §3731(b)(2)—which provides that a False Claims Act action must be brought within 3 years after the “the official of the United States charged with responsibility to act in the circumstances” knew or should have known the relevant facts, but not more than 10 years after the violation—applies in a qui tam suit in which the Federal Government has declined to intervene; the relator in a nonintervened suit is not “the official of the United States” whose knowledge triggers §3731(b)(2)’s limitations period.

The Court’s statement of the holding, from the opinion’s syllabus. The syllabus is prepared by the Reporter of Decisions and is not part of the opinion of the Court. Read the official opinion for authority.

How the Justices voted

Decided 9–0.

“Concurring” means agreeing with the outcome; any split shown is the Court’s judgment, not each Justice’s reasoning. The lineup is the syllabus’s disposition of who wrote and joined each opinion. Source: the opinion’s syllabus (supremecourt.gov).

Precedents cited

Supreme Court decisions this opinion relies on, ordered by how often it cites each. Cases in our collection link through; others are named.

• Graham County Soil & Water Conservation District v. United States Ex Rel. Wilson · 545 U.S. 409 (2005)
• Vermont Agency of Natural Resources v. United States Ex Rel. Stevens · 529 U.S. 765 (2000)
• Rumsfeld v. Padilla · 542 U.S. 426 (2004)
• Exxon Mobil Corp. v. Allapattah Services, Inc. · 545 U.S. 546 (2005)
• United States v. Detroit Timber & Lumber Co. · 200 U.S. 321 (1906)
• Ratzlaf v. United States · 510 U.S. 135 (1994)
• Barnhart v. Sigmon Coal Co. · 534 U.S. 438 (2002)
• Reno v. Bossier Parish School Board · 528 U.S. 320 (2000)

Cited by

Later Supreme Court opinions in our collection that cite this case.

• Lomax v. Ortiz-Marquez · 590 U.S. 595 (2020)
• United States v. Davis · 588 U.S. 445 (2019)

Official text

Read the official opinion (PDF, supremecourt.gov)

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Source: Supreme Court of the United States, slip opinions (2019). Citation count from the Free Law Project’s CourtListener bulk data. Data last verified 2026-08-15. Informational only; verify against the primary source before relying. Not a consumer report (FCRA).