United States ex rel. John Doe v. Staples, Inc., No. 13-7071 (D.C. Cir. 2014)
Annotate this CaseRelator filed suit against defendants under the False Claims Act (FCA), 31 U.S.C. 3729, alleging that defendants imported pencils that they knew were made in China, avoided paying substantial antidumping duties imposed on Chinese-made pencils, and falsely declared to U.S. Customs officials that they were made elsewhere in Asia. On appeal, relator challenged the district court's conclusions that his FCA claim is based on publicly disclosed information and that he failed to demonstrate original-source status. The court affirmed the district court's dismissal for lack of subject matter jurisdiction because relator's claim is jurisdictionally barred and the court had no reason to determine whether the complaint failed to state a viable FCA claim.
Some case metadata and case summaries were written with the help of AI, which can produce inaccuracies. You should read the full case before relying on it for legal research purposes.
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.