Page:U.S. ex rel. Polansky v. Executive Health Resources.pdf/19

Rh apply Rule 41’s standards. The second pertains to the set of interests the court should consider in ruling on a post-answer motion. In non-FCA cases, Rule 41(a)(2)’s “proper terms” analysis focuses on the defendant’s interests: The court mainly addresses whether that party’s “commitment of time and money” militates against dismissal. Cooter & Gell v. Hartmarx Corp., 496 U. S. 384, 397 (1990). But in the FCA context, the “proper terms” assessment is more likely to involve the relator. For all relators faced with a (2)(A) motion want their actions to go forward, and many have by then committed substantial resources. Part of the district court’s task is to consider their interests. Cf. 9 C. Wright & A. Miller, Federal Practice and Procedure §2364, p. 554 (4th ed. 2022) (explaining that a court, in applying Rule 41, “should endeavor to ensure that substantial justice is accorded to all parties”).

The Third Circuit, though, was right to note that (2)(A) motions will satisfy Rule 41 in all but the most exceptional cases. See 17 F. 4th, at 390–391, and n. 18. This Court has never set out a grand theory of what that Rule requires, and we will not do so here. The inquiry is necessarily “contextual.” 9 Wright & Miller §2364, at 599. And in this context, the Government’s views are entitled to substantial deference. A qui tam suit, as we have explained, is on behalf of