Claris Law Legal Blogging Community

Editor: Mike Bothwell
Profession: Qui Tam Attorney

Category: Qui Tam Legal News

The U.S. government has joined a recently unsealed whistleblower lawsuit against a wholly owned subsidiary of Alliant Technologies, charging that it knowingly sold dangerous flares that could ignite if dropped from low heights.

The U.S. government requires flares to withstand a drop of 10 feet without igniting as a safety precaution. A manager at the Alliant Technologies subsidiary, Kendal Dye, filed the qui tam lawsuit in April, 2006. He charges that the company had been aware since 2000 that the flares could ignite in drops as low as 3 feet but failed to notify the government or conduct safety tests. The cost of a single flare ranges between $700 and $1,000 and the Army and Air Force have paid more than $100 million for the flares.