Northrop Settles Whistleblower Case for $325M

No money will change hands after firm, feds settle separate case

By Matt Cantor, Newser Staff

Posted Apr 3, 2009 9:43 AM CDT

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Northrop Settles Whistleblower Case for $325M — The Global Hawk, a version of the Air Force's top-of-the-line unmanned spyplane built by Northrop Grumman Corp., is unveiled at Edwards Air Force Base, Calif., in January. (AP Photo/Reed Saxon)

Northrop Grumman has settled a whistleblower case with the government for $325 million, but the defense contractor doesn't need to get out its checkbook: In a separate case, the federal government agreed to pay Northrop the same amount, the Los Angeles Times reports. The two cases offset each other and “no money is exchanged,” said a Justice Department official.

The electrical engineer at the center of the whistleblower suit sued in 2002, alleging that a Northrop subsidiary knowingly sold the government defective parts. He received $48.7 million in the case--but it was paid by the Treasury, not Northrop. Meanwhile, Northrop came out on top in a 13-year case regarding a missile program the government canceled in 1995.
(More Northrop Grumman stories.)

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