Phone Recovery Services, LLC, for Itself and on Behalf of the State of Minnesota v. Qwest Corporation, a Colorado…

Summary

The court held that the Minnesota False Claims Act's tax bar applies to qui tam claims concerning the 911 fee, Telecommunications Access Minnesota charge, and Telephone Assistance Plan surcharge. Applying the statutory definition of "tax," the court concluded that these mandatory, government-imposed charges are taxes rather than voluntary prices for governmental services, so claims concerning them are barred. Justice McKeig, joined by another justice, dissented and would have interpreted the tax bar narrowly and allowed the action to proceed.