AEROSPACE

A federal jury returned a $1.4-million verdict against Rockwell International Corp. for submitting false claims to the federal government when it operated a nuclear weapons plant in Colorado in the 1980s. The jury’s award is automatically tripled under terms of the False Claims Act, attorneys for both sides told reporters after the verdict in the three-week trial. An attorney for Rockwell said the company may appeal. The Justice Department and a whistle-blower who worked for Rockwell at the former Rocky Flats nuclear weapons plant near Denver had sought $164 million in their joint lawsuit against Rockwell. In a separate criminal case in 1992, Rockwell agreed to an $18.5-million fine for breaking environmental laws at the plant. Rockwell operated the facility for the Energy Department from 1975 through 1989. Cleanup work continues at the plant.