Stericycle Announces Settlement To End 7-Year Qui Tam Suit

(RTTNews) - Stericycle Inc. (SRCL) said that it has entered into a settlement agreement for a qui tam lawsuit that has been ongoing since 2008.

As previously disclosed by Stericycle in its filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, a qui tam (or "whistle blower") complaint was filed in 2008 by a former Stericycle employee on behalf of the Federal Government and later fourteen states and the District of Columbia.

In that case, brought under the Federal False Claims Act and various equivalent state statutes, the former employee alleged that Stericycle improperly increased its service price to certain government customers by passing on cost increases without contractual authorization.

The matter has now been settled by all parties, which will result in Stericycle paying a total of $26.75 million to the Federal Government and all affected states to resolve all claims.

Stericycle denied all allegations raised by the former employee and is settling this matter without admitting fault or wrongdoing. The parties announced that they agreed to settle the matter to avoid the delay, uncertainty, and expense of continued litigation.