You Win Some and You Lose Some -- Northrop Grumman Settles Suit with Government

(MoneyWatch)  The New York Times reports on a case where Northrop Grumman settled a whistleblower lawsuit with the Federal Government about faulty parts used in satellites. The suit is actually based on work done by TRW before they were bought by Northrop Grumman in the early part of this decade. It alleged that TRW provided electronic parts that would fail once the satellite was placed in use leading to expensive work arounds or reprogramming by the Air Force or NASA. The total settlement was $325 million of which the whistleblowers will receive about $48 million of the money under U.S. law. Interestingly the Government and Northrop Grumman used this case to settle another one pending between them where the company was trying to get compensation for the cancellation of the Tri-Service Standoff Attack Missile (TRISAM) program. Funnily enough the Government agreed to settle for $325 million so Northrop Grumman will not be transferring any funds to the U.S. Treasury for this episode. I am sure that this makes sense to somebody.