A federal judge has ruled the U.S. can bring suit against grenade manufacturers who allegedly sold defective grenades due to a rushed production schedule.

The original whistleblower claim was filed by John King, a former quality-assurance manager who, after refusing to certify the quality of defective grenades, was fired by his employer, DSE Inc. King’s complaint alleges that DSE Inc. and its subcontractors, Kaman Precision Products, GTI Systems and JKS Industries, skipped quality-control procedures and falsely billed the federal government.

While the defendants argued that Mr. King’s months-long tenure at DSE prohibited him from addressing years of false billing, U.S. District Judge Merryday disagreed, claiming knowledge of specific billing practices need not be a prerequisite for allegations of wrongdoing. Requests to dismiss Mr. King’s wrongful termination suit and the allegations against subcontractors Kaman, GTI, and JKS were also denied.