Jeffrey Eisenberg, a Salt Lake City lawyer representing three former workers, called the Wednesday ruling by U.S. District Judge Bruce Jenkins a victory. He said it gives his clients limited access to company documents that will strengthen their claim.

“Although the judge has said the past complaint needs more detail, this is a victory for our clients from our perspective,” said Eisenberg, noting that the judge gave plaintiffs 60 days to file updated paperwork. “Envirocare doesn't want that.”

But Envirocare attorney Rod Snow disputed there is any future for the case. The Tooele County radioactive and hazardous waste company has said all along the whistle-blowers' charges have no foundation, and Jenkins previously has thrown out a few of the whistle-blowers' claims.

“The bottom line is they are out of court for the second time,” he said. “I don't think there will be any different result if they amend their complaint.”

Under the Civil War-era federal False Claims Act, whistle-blowers can initiate a lawsuit on behalf of the federal government. The thinking behind the law is that workers with inside knowledge can bring to light wrongdoing within a company that has federal contracts.

Envirocare counted on federal government cleanup contracts from the Pentagon, the Environmental Protection Agency and the Energy Department for about 80 percent of its business in 2002 when the suit was initially filed. The federal agencies, offered the first crack at taking the case forward, bowed out.

That has left the three former Envirocare workers - Roger Lemmon, Patrick Cole and Kyle Gunderson - to pursue the case with private attorneys. The whistle-blowers' case so far is based on personal notes and records.

So far, they have not had access to the billing documents that might help them prove the allegations that Envirocare billed the government for work that was below standards, such as improper burial of low-level radioactive waste.

fahys@sltrib.com