On Feb. 6, 2015, plaintiff David Lillie, 64, an engineer, was terminated from his position at ManTech International Corp., in Montrose. ManTech was a third-party contractor on a robotic lander designed to study the deep interior of the planet Mars, as part of the Mars InSight Mission. ManTech contracted with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration to use funds from the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory and the California Institute of Technology Reliability Engineering Support Services contract to pay for Lillie’s services. Lillie provided engineering support in fulfillment of the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory and Caltech Reliability Engineering Support Services contract. While Lillie was helping design the spacecraft’s power supply, he received classified/proprietary documents, of which contractors, such as ManTech, were prohibited from gaining access. Lillie reported to ManTech that he had received unauthorized access to classified/proprietary information during his work on the project. Shortly thereafter, Lillie was placed on indefinite furlough and then terminated. Lillie sued ManTech Int’l. Corp, alleging that ManTech’s actions constituted whistleblower retaliation and wrongful termination. Lillie claimed ManTech obtained the classified/proprietary documents, failed to inform him that they were not allowed to view the information, and then attempted to cover it up by having him remove information about the documents from his reports. He also claimed that ManTech fired him in retaliation for reporting that he had received unauthorized access to classified/proprietary information during his work on the project. Defense counsel contended that ManTech furloughed and/or terminated Lillie’s employment because the Jet Propulsion Laboratory terminated its contract with ManTech., Lillie worked as a senior engineer at ManTech from 2007 until his termination. He sought recovery for his past and future loss of pay, and past and future emotional distress.