US Cellular to Again Face Whistleblowers’ FCC Auction Fraud Suit

US Cellular Corp. will have to again defend itself from whistleblowers’ claims that the company engaged in a fraudulent scheme to win FCC spectrum licenses at an auction, the DC Circuit ruled Friday.

A federal district court improperly concluded that the whistleblowers didn’t satisfy the original source exception to the False Claims Act’s public disclosure bar, Judge Gregory G. Katsas of the US Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit said in a Friday opinion to reverse and remand. The bar generally prevents whistleblowers from pursuing fraud claims based on substantially the same allegations as those in the public domain. ...