Teledyne to Settle False Claim Suit : Litigation: A former employee and the Justice Department will receive $2.15 million to drop charges that Teledyne Controls falsified data on cockpit systems.
Teledyne agreed Friday to pay $2.15 million to settle allegations brought by a former quality assurance engineer that the firm’s controls division in Los Angeles falsified tests on Navy, Air Force and Army cockpit electronics systems.
Under terms of a settlement announced by the Justice Department, Teledyne will pay $1.72 million to the federal government and $430,000 to whistle-blower Marianne Gendron, who brought the case under the False Claims Act. The law allows individuals to sue contractors on behalf of the government and share in any award.
Teledyne settled the case without admitting wrongdoing, saying it acted “to avoid further disruptions and the cost of litigation.” The Justice Department also agreed to drop its criminal investigation of Gendron’s allegations.
“We took a look at it, and it didn’t warrant pursuing it criminally,” Assistant U.S. Atty. Julie Fox Blackshaw said.
But the settlement still leaves Teledyne with a lengthy legal agenda.
In financial filings last month, the company disclosed that it faces criminal investigations at its Teledyne Electronics, Wah Chang Albany and Ryan Aeronautical units. In addition, the Justice Department has joined two other civil cases and is investigating two additional cases that remain under court seal.
Teledyne has voluntarily admitted wrongdoing in three other cases under a special Defense Department disclosure program. And previously, the firm pleaded guilty to criminal charges in two further cases.
Among the allegations settled by the agreement announced Friday were charges that Teledyne failed to perform tests to ensure that Army Black Hawk helicopter pilots would not be blinded by light from cockpit control panels. Other cockpit devices involved in the case were made for the Navy’s F-14 Tomcat jet and the Air Force’s F-15 and F-16.
Gendron’s attorney, William Ramsey, said the settlement applies only to certain allegations she brought in 1990, allowing her to refile other charges and prosecute them privately. The Valencia lawyer said he intends to file an amended complaint covering additional allegations within 60 days.
“The bulk of the allegations are still there,” Ramsey said. “I fully expect to get much more than the settlement announced today.”
Ramsey charged that, until recently, the Justice Department “would not settle the case.” Just before the settlement agreement, he said, he was preparing a motion asking a judge to remove the government from the case.
A Teledyne attorney said he believed that the firm faces no further liability.
Gendron began working at Teledyne in October, 1986. She was removed from her job in August, 1990, after raising her allegations of wrongdoing, and put on administrative leave with pay. She settled prior allegations of wrongful termination last year for an undisclosed amount.
Ramsey said unsettled portions of the case involve allegations that $125 million worth of parts, including printed wiring boards, were improperly tested. In addition, the suit charges that a Teledyne executive bribed a Defense Department official to accept faulty parts. The Defense Department confirmed last year that one of its officials was fired for accepting payments from Teledyne.
Gendron is now working at another aerospace firm, Ramsey said.
