What does “Qui Tam” mean?

The phrase “qui tam” is Latin, meaning “who as well.” And in the 13th Century, it referred to English lawsuits where a person sued on behalf of the King … as well as for himself.

“Qui tam pro domino rege quam pro se ipso in hac parte sequitur” is the full Latin phrase for this legal scenario, translated into English as, “who sues in this matter for the king as well as for himself.” Qui tam cases, today often known as “whistleblower litigation,” originated in England when commoners brought to the attention of the king and exposed via a law suit the wrong-doing that had been committed against the king and thus the country. A financial reward was then bestowed upon the commoner as a token of the king’s gratitude. This of course encouraged qui tam litigation!

When President Abraham Lincoln signed into law the False Claims Act in 1863 (also known as “Lincoln’s Law”), qui tam litigation was reinvigorated and brought to the attention of citizens during the Civil War. The FCA was created to fight widespread fraud against the Union troops and the federal government during this tumultuous period in American history.