The Fifth Circuit ruled that a whistleblower’s voluntary dismissal with prejudice cannot affect the Government’s ability to pursue related litigation. When the Government has not yet intervened, and thus is not a yet a party, a case cannot be dismissed with prejudice as to the Government by a whistleblower. Background... Continue Reading →Tags: AKS, Anti-Kickback Statute, False Claims Act, FCA, Fifth Circuit, Northern District of Georgia, qui tam, Southern District of Texas, Vaughn ex rel. v. United Biologics, Voluntary Dismissal with Prejudice, whistleblower
On May 10, 2018, United States Senior District Judge for the Central District of Illinois, Joe Billy McDade, issued an order that should form the template for all courts asked to keep the Government’s False Claims Act extension motions under seal.[1] Far too often courts simply grant the Government’s ex... Continue Reading →Tags: Champion Fitness, False Claims Act, FCA, Morgan, qui tam, seal, unseal
In United States ex rel. Schneider v. JPMorgan Chase Bank, Nat’l Ass’n. [1], the D.C. Circuit re-affirms its position that contingent penalties are not obligations under the False Claims Act (“FCA”). BACKGROUND In the initial suit[2], Relator brought a qui tam action under the FCA against mortgage loan servicer JPMorgan... Continue Reading →Tags: False Claims Act, FCA, penalty, potential, qui tam
In an opinion loaded with linguistic hooks, the United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida recently reinforced the Supreme Court’s holding in Escobar, enthusiastically highlighting the importance of materiality and scienter in FCA cases. Background In U.S. ex rel. Ruckh v. Salus Rehabilitation, LLC, et al., Relators... Continue Reading →Tags: Escobar, False Claims Act, FCA, materiality
On September 7, 2017, the Second Circuit realigned its stance on false certifications under the False Claims Act (“FCA”) in light of the Supreme Court’s decisions in Universal Health Services, Inc. v. United States ex rel. Escobar, 136 S.Ct. 1989, 195 L.Ed.2d 348 (2016). BACKGROUND In the initial action, relators brought a qui... Continue Reading →Tags: 2nd Circuit, Bishop, certification, Escobar, express, False Claims Act, FCA, implied, pleading, Second Circuit, Wells Fargo
The Tenth Circuit’s recent decision in United States ex rel. Little v. Triumph Gear Sys., Inc. refines its definition of “intervene” in light of the Supreme Court’s decision in United States ex rel. Eisenstein v. City of New York. In doing so, the Tenth Circuit also seems to indicate that the original filing... Continue Reading →Tags: bar, False Claims Act, FCA, jurisdiction, original source, public disclosure
Recently, the Department of Justice (“DOJ”) announced it had entered into a $42 million settlement (“Settlement”)[1] with the owners of a California acute care hospital (“Parent Company”) to resolve allegations that the Parent Company had violated the False Claims Act by submitting false claims to Medicare and MediCal (California Medicaid)... Continue Reading →Tags: AKS, False Claims Act, FCA, Medical Director, referrals, settlement, Stark
The public disclosure bar remains one of the most important tools for disposing of False Claims Act (“FCA”) claims. The Seventh Circuit’s recent decision in United States ex rel. Bellevue v. United Health Services of Hartgrove, Inc. clarified the effect of the 2010 amendments to the public disclosure bar and affirmed... Continue Reading →Tags: FCA, qui tam, Seventh Circuit, whistleblower
Executive Summary: Dahlstrom v. Sauk-Suiattle Indian Tribe, No. C16-0053JLR, 2017 WL 1064399 (W.D. Wash. Mar. 21, 2017) On March 21, 2017, a federal judge agreed with the Sauk-Suiattle Indian tribe (the “Sauk-Suiattle” or the “Tribe”) that it could not be sued under the federal False Claims Act (“FCA”) due to... Continue Reading →Tags: Dahlsrom, False Claims Act, FCA, Indian, Sauk-Suiattle, Tribal, Tribe, Washington
The Federal District Court for the Middle District of Florida appears to have rejected recent direction from the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeal to deny a motion to dismiss in a False Claims Act case. In United States ex rel. Napoli et al. v. Premier Hospitalists PL, et al. the... Continue Reading →Tags: Clausen, False Claims Act, FCA, fraud, fraud with particularity, Jallali, Mastej, Napoli, Premier Hospitalists, Rule 9