Page:U.S. ex rel. Polansky v. Executive Health Resources.pdf/29

Rh the action” or not. First, paragraph (1) of subsection (c) (or, paragraph (c)(1)) provides: “If the Government proceeds with the action, it shall have the primary responsibility for prosecuting the action,” but the relator “shall have the right to continue as a party to the action, subject to [paragraph (c)(2)’s] limitations.” As used here, the phrase “proceeds with the action” naturally refers to the same seal-period choice for which §3730 uses the same phrase in paragraph (b)(2) and subparagraph (b)(4)(A). And the Government “hav[ing] the primary responsibility for prosecuting the action” appears synonymous with the Government “conduct[ing]” the action under subparagraph (b)(4)(A). See 3 Oxford English Dictionary 691 (2d ed. 1989) (defining “conduct” as “[t]o lead, command, direct, manage”).

By contrast, paragraph (c)(3) provides: “If the Government elects not to proceed with the action, the [relator] shall have the right to conduct the action.” The conditional clause of this sentence is a clear reference to the seal-period “elect[ion]” described in paragraph (b)(2). Likewise, the result clause plainly echoes “the right to conduct the action” referred to under subparagraph (b)(4)(B), which the relator acquires when the Government does not “proceed with the action” under subparagraph (b)(4)(A) at the end of the seal period.

In short, the initial clauses of paragraphs (c)(1) and (c)(3) track subparagraphs (b)(4)(A) and (b)(4)(B) and point back to the Government’s seal-period choice to “proceed with the action” or not. If the Government chooses to proceed with