The fraud charges Northrop Grumman settled yesterday for $12.5 million were as a result of a “qui tam” (whistleblower) lawsuit against Northrop, filed by in federal district court in Los Angeles in 2006 by Allen Davis, formerly a quality assurance manager with Northrop’s navigation systems division in Salt Lake City.
He will receive a reward of $2.3 million as provided in the “qui tam” provisions of the False Claims Act.
The settlement came following the federal government’s decision that for nine years, Northrop failed to test certain electronic components it sold the military for use in the navigation systems of planes, helicopters and submarines.
Phillips & Cohen LLP, the nation’s most successful law firm with regard to whistleblowers, represented Davis.
According to the June 23 press release at PR Newswire, Claire M. Sylvia, an attorney with Phillips& Cohen LLP, was quoted as saying: “Allen Davis demonstrated a lot of courage in reporting to the government that his employer was failing to ensure that parts used in military products were properly tested. Â He did everything he could to raise his concerns with his supervisors, but they ignored his complaints. So he turned to us to become a whistleblower to force the company to address the problem. Mr. Davis is deeply committed to doing his part to keep our armed forces safe.”
Phillips & Cohen’s attorneys are regularly recognized for their successful work on whistleblower cases with inclusion on such select lists as the Top 10 “Winning Attorneys” in the U.S., the “100 Most Influential Lawyers” and the National Law Journal’s Top 20 “Hot List” of plaintiffs’ law firms.