The University of Phoenix has asked the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn a lower court’s ruling that the institution must go to trial on allegations that it paid recruiters based on the number of students they enrolled. Paying recruiters solely on such a basis is against the law. A lawsuit, filed in 2003 by two former recruiters, alleges that Phoenix obtained federal funds while certifying that it was in compliance with all Department of Education regulations.

The case, filed under the federal False Claims Act, was dismissed in 2004 by a U.S. District Court in California on technical grounds. It was reinstated in September by a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. Lawyers for the recruiters say that Phoenix could be forced to repay billions of dollars in federal funds if it loses. The university, which is owned by the Apollo Group, appealed to the full Ninth Circuit, but it declined to hear the case.

Apollo has hired Theodore B. Olson, the former solicitor general, to argue its side. In a petition to the Supreme Court filed on Monday, Phoenix argues that the decision by the Ninth Circuit is inconsistent with decisions in similar cases by at least three of the other federal circuit courts. If the decision is allowed to stand, the Phoenix lawyers argue, it will expose government contractors to “potentially bankrupting liability on the basis of obscure regulatory violations.”