Wikipedia definition of qui tam lawsuits: Qui tam is a legal provision in the United States under the False Claims Act, et seq.), which allows for a private individual, or whistleblower with knowledge of past or present fraud committed against the U.S. federal government to bring suit on its behalf. Its name is an abbreviation of the Latin phrase “qui tam pro domino rege quam pro se ipso in hoc parte sequitur”, meaning “he who sues for the king as well as for himself." This provision allows a private person, known as a “relator,” to bring a lawsuit on behalf of the United States, where the private person has information that the named defendant has knowingly submitted or caused the submission of false or fraudulent claims to the United States. The relator need not have been personally harmed by the defendant’s conduct.
