Does a relator have a shorter statute of limitations period than the United States to pursue a False Claims Act (FCA) case when the United States has declined to intervene? A split among the circuit courts has created an opportunity for the US Supreme Court to resolve this vexing question and potentially confirm whether relators are government officials under the statute. In issuing certiorari to the US Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit, in Cochise Consultancy Inc. v. United States, ex rel. Hunt, the Court will address the limitations issue against the backdrop of a growing litigation trend in declined qui tams and lengthy seal durations when sued defendants have no idea they’ve been sued for many years. Partner Kathleen McDermott breaks down the Cochise appeal—characterized in a recent Morgan Lewis LawFlash as “a hot case to watch”—and offers a timely analysis of the case, and the potential legal consequences of a decision by the US Supreme Court to level set the FCA statute of limitations provisions.