United States ex rel. Gross v. AIDS Research Alliance-Chicago

Posted on June 21, 2012 in Case Cites

415 F.3d 601 (7th Cir. 2005) The whistleblower alleged that the Defendants filed a myriad of different “forms, written reports and study results” during the course of a federally-subsidized study. He did not state when the documents were filed, did not specifically identify any of them, and did not allege... Continue Reading →

Tags: AIDS Research Alliance-Chicago, False Claims Act, FCA, Gross, relator, whistleblower

False Claims Exposure in Credentialing and Peer Review

Posted on March 27, 2012 in Legal Updates

The Federal Government has reinforced its expanded theory of false claim liability for quality matters by settling allegations against a hospital that a physician’s lack of qualifications to perform certain surgical procedures should be considered a false claim, regardless of the patient’s outcome. As part of the settlement, the hospital... Continue Reading →

Tags: Azmat, Brian Bettner, False Claims Act, Hall Render, James Hogan, peer review, Rogers, Satilla Regional Medical Center

A Twenty Year Statute of Limitations?

Posted on March 15, 2012 in Statutes and Regulations

Last month the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) published proposed rules for reporting of overpayments. These proposed rules, if adopted and strictly interpreted, could effectively create a twenty-year statute of limitations under the False Claims Act.... Continue Reading →

Tags: 60 day, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, CFR, CMS, CMS–6037–P, Code of Federal Regulations, False Claims Act, FCA, identification, overpayment, proposed rule, regulation, sixty day, statute of limitations, ten years

February FCA Update

Posted on March 13, 2012 in Legal Updates

February was an interesting month, with one case showing how OIG advisory opinions can be taken too far, another considering fraud under a corporate integrity agreement, and a court applying burden-shifting for the first time at the appellate level in FCA retaliation cases. Cases reviewed from February are: US ex rel.... Continue Reading →

Tags: advisory opinion, Aggregate Industries, Bell Constructors, Boggs, Bright Smile, caselaw, False Claims Act, fraud with particularity, Harrington, Klein, Klusmeier, law, legal, Matheny, Medco, OIG, qui tam, relator, retaliation, update, whistleblower

False Claims Act Update, January 2012

Posted on February 6, 2012 in Legal Updates

January, 2012, saw two different examples of the Government using the False Claims Act to bring a gun to a knife fight. In the first case the gun won the day. In the second, it backfired. Both cases were brought in the U.S. Court of Federal Claims and in both... Continue Reading →

Tags: affirmative defense, Chapman, Court of Claims, estoppel, False Claims Act, FCA, Honeywell, Najjar, Railway Logistics, reverse false claim

False Claims Act Update, December 2011

Posted on January 3, 2012 in Legal Updates

What must a successful FCA defendant show to collect attorney’s fees under the Equal Access to Justic Act? Can an error by the government create an FCA violation by a defendant relying upon the government’s acts? Does Vermont Agency of Natural Resources v. US ex rel. Stevens apply to FCA... Continue Reading →

Tags: Comstock, EAJA, Equal Access, False Claims Act, FCA, Fox, Huang, immunity, lease, Pecore, person, pro se, qui tam, real party in interest, relator, retaliation, Select Medical, Stevens, Thouvenot, Villaspring, whistleblower, worthless, Wright

False Claims Act Update, November 2011

Posted on December 5, 2011 in Legal Updates

Can an incompetent, and ultimately dismissed, False Claims Act Complaint bar a future complaint under the FCA’s “first to file rule?” The Court of Appeals in Washington D.C. answered the question for the first time on November 4, 2011. Can a settlement agreement between an employer and an employee force... Continue Reading →

Tags: 2011, AARS, Batiste, Cancio, CDC, Chicago, Compass Medical, D.C., dialysis, District of Columbia, False Claims Act, FCA, Foglia, fraud in the inducement, Glynn, Massachusetts, New Jersey, November, Ohio, qui tam, relator, Renal Ventures, Ruble, Scott, seal, settlement agreement, Skidmore, SLM Corporation, Tampa, whistleblower, Wildhirt

False Claims Act Update, October 2011

Posted on November 1, 2011 in Legal Updates

A case based upon FOIA documents may be subject to the public disclosure bar. A difference of scientific judgment does not create the basis for an FCA suit. Whistleblowers who wish to dismiss their suits after the Government refuses intervention may not hide their identity from the defendants, even if... Continue Reading →

Tags: Danner, Durham, False Claims Act, FCA, Hill, Matsutani, Prospect Waterproofing, Quality Health Care, quit tam, relator, retaliation, seal, University of Medicine & Dentistry of New Jersey, whistleblower

UPDATED – Retention of Overpayments under FERA and the ACA

Posted on January 6, 2011 in Legal Updates

The Fraud Enforcement Recovery Act of 2009 (“FERA”) was enacted on May 20, 2009. Among other things, FERA significantly amended the False Claims Act (“FCA”) to make it easier for whistleblowers to bring claims against Medicare and Medicaid providers and other government contractors. It also created an entirely new type... Continue Reading →

Tags: False Claims Act, FERA, Landgraf, Omnicare, overpayment, PPACA, retention, Stone

Summary Judgment Granted!

Posted on June 15, 2009 in Case Analysis

The Federal District Court in the Southern District of Illinois granted summary judgment against a whistleblower, and in favor of the Defendant, in a case filed against an Effingham, Illinois urologist. The whistleblower alleged the doctor billed for services provided by his staff, under his supervision, when he was not... Continue Reading →

Tags: dismissal, dismissed, Effingham, False Claims Act, Illinois, qui tam, relator, southern district, summary judgment, urologist, whistleblower