False Claims Actions
Cal. GOV § 12654
California Statutes
(
a) A civil action under
Section shall not be filed more than six years after the date on which the violation of
Section is committed, or more than three years after the date when facts material to the right of action are known or reasonably should have been known by the Attorney General or prosecuting authority with jurisdiction to act under this article, but in no event more than years after the date on which the violation is committed, whichever of the aforementioned occurs last. (
b) A civil action under
Section may be brought for activity prior to January 1, 1988, if the limitations period set in subdivision (
a) has not lapsed. (
c) In any action brought under
Section 12652, the state, the political subdivision, or the qui tam plaintiff shall be required to prove all essential elements of the cause of action, including damages, by a preponderance of the evidence. (
d) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, a guilty verdict rendered in a criminal proceeding charging false statements or fraud, whether upon a verdict after trial or upon a plea of guilty or nolo contendere, except for a plea of nolo contendere made prior to January 1, 1988, shall estop the defendant from denying the essential elements of the offense in any action which involves the same transaction as in the criminal proceeding and which is brought under subdivision (a), (b), or (
c) of
Section 12652. (
e) Subdivision (
b) of