[Disclaimer: I’m not a lawyer]. This is something that might interest any lawyers on this board:
United States ex rel. Totten v. Bomabrdier Corp., DC Cir., No. 03-7128, 8-27-04.
Evidently Edward Totten, a former Amtrak employee, brought a qui tam action against Bombardier. In the complaint, Totten stated that Bombardier had submitted invoices for new toilet systems that referenced/included parts that did not meet contract specifications. {“Qui tam” actions are filed when the party knows or believes invoices include false information. There are severe penalties if a firm is found to have submitted “false claims” to the Government.}
The fact that Amtrak may have used Government funds to pay the invoices did not make Amtrak part of the Government. The judge’s reasoning was that Amtrak’s organic statute [49 USC section 24301 (a)(3)] states that Amtrak is not a US department, agency or instrumentality.
What a concept, a judge that applies the law as it is written. The law itself is the lie. Amtrak is totaly a creature of the government as a matter of fact. Look at who is making up their deficit.
Is State University of New York (SUNY) or Ohio State or any state university system part of there repsective states? Is the Thruway Authority part of New York State? What the heck since Union Pacific was oringnally created as part of the Department of the Interior way back in 1866 (?) is UP part of the goverment? There needs to be some lines drawn here with state owned enterprise
Dunkirk- There are in fact lines drawn. Ownership is fairly well defined by a large body of law. Someone could do all the things an owner would do for a property or a business and still not be the owner. So even though Amtrak was formed by federal law and receives federal government grants, it is by the law not part of the US Government. It can walk like a duck and talk like a duck, but sorry, it ain’t a duck.
Is the CIA part of the US goverment? What about the Contras in Honduras? No lets not go there. The legal issue here is that does Amtrak operate “Under color of the law” and are they a “State Actor”? You can deny service to anyone in your shop, But if a Amtrak Conductor were to deny someone boarding the train because he was a Arab or Black or Hispanic then Amtrak “could” be sued as a state actor as well as the conductor himself as a state actor.