McDonough Bolyard Peck Whistleblower Revives Retaliation Suit

McDonough Bolyard Peck Inc. will again face a former compliance officer’s False Claims Act suit alleging that the construction company fired him in retaliation for calling attention to alleged deficiencies in a federally funded public housing project in Philadelphia.

The dismissal and refusal to allow amendment of Don Ascolese’s suit was improper, Judge L. Felipe Restrepo of the US Court of Appeals for Third Circuit said in a Wednesday opinion. A lower court failed to properly consider congressional amendments that expanded the scope of protected conduct under the FCA’s anti-retaliation provision, he said.

Restrepo said the Third Circuit had ...