Last week, the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals issued its unpublished ruling in US ex rel. Mastej v. Health Management Associates, Inc. At issue was whether the relator’s Third Amended Complaint adequately pled fraud with particularity, as required by Fed.R.Civ.Pro. 9(b). Mastej was an Health Management Associate (“HMA”) executive from 2001 to... Continue Reading →Tags: 11th Circuit, 9(b), AKS, Anti-Kickback, Eleventh Circuit, False Claims Act, FCA, fraud with particularity, Health Management Systems, HMS, Mastej, Stark
Several FCA opinions have been issued since the last FCA Update. The most interesting is a District of Nevada case, US ex rel Guardiola v Renown Health. Renown Health was the parent company for two other corporate defendants that provided acute health care services. The relator was Renown’s Director of Clinical Compliance. She... Continue Reading →Tags: 2010, AstraZeneca, Bristo-Myers Squibb, direct and independent, direct knowledge, False Claims, FCA, Guardiola, independent knowledge, jurisdiction, original source, public disclosure, RAC, Renown, Schumann
In a new case from the Southern District of Ohio, US_v_MillenniumRadiology, the court denied a motion to dismiss a False Claims Act suit, finding that compliance with a safe harbor could only be raised on summary judgment. The court also found that uncompensated service as a medical director could form the basis... Continue Reading →Tags: AKS, Anti-Kickback Statute, False Claims Act, FCA, hospital, Medical Director, radiology, safe harbor
From October 1 through October 12, 2014, there were 14 federal cases reported that mentioned the False Claims Act. One was previously discussed in the September 2014 FCA Update. Eight more only tangentially discussed the False Claims Act. Five cases might be of interest to parties and counsel in a False... Continue Reading →Tags: attorney, Boeing, Cephalon, Cestra, conspiracy, deposition, FAA, False Claims Act, FCA, first to file, fraud with particularity, Graves, individual defendants, jurisdiction, Kelly, May, Plaza Medical Centers, privilege, Purdue Pharma, regulatory compliance, Serco, Smith, specific claims
US ex rel Graves v Plaza Medical Centers Corp Case No. 10-23382-CIV-MORENO (S.D.Fla. Oct. 8, 2014) Defendants filed a Motion to Dismiss for failure to plead fraud with particularity. The trial court dismissed without prejudice, finding: While Relator alleged specific conduct as to 28 patients, it did not offer a... Continue Reading →Tags: actual claim, conspiracy, False Claims Act, FCA, fraud with particularity, Graves, individual defendants, motion to dismiss, Plaza Medical Centers, specific allegations
US ex rel Smith v Boeing Case No. 05-1073-MLB (D.Kansas Oct. 8, 2014) The court granted Boeing’s motion for summary judgment, finding that there were reasonable conflicting interpretations of the contract’s requirements, undermining any claim of knowing false certification, and that the FAA had specifically investigated and rejected Relator’s interpretations.... Continue Reading →Tags: Boeing, expertise, FAA, False Claims Act, FCA, interpretations, Regulations, Smith, summary judgment
US ex rel Kelly v Serco Case no. 11cv2975 /WQH-RBB (S.D.Cal. Oct. 6, 2014) Relator alleged the Defendant failed to follow government time and cost reporting requirements. The court found that Defendant impliedly certified compliance with certain regulations. However, the court found that the regulations, which applied to the Department... Continue Reading →Tags: Department of Defense, Department of Homeland Security, False Claims Act, FCA, implied certification, Kelly, Regulations, Serco, summary judgment
US ex rel Cestra v Cephalon Case No. 14-01842 (E.D.Penn. Oct. 9, 2014) In considering a first-to-file challenge to jurisdiction, the court compared the other relator’s complaint to the instant relator’s initial complaint, not his subsequently amended complaint, as the original complaint offers the facts at the time the second... Continue Reading →Tags: Cephalon, Cestra, False Claims Act, FCA, first to file, jurisdiction, timing
Only one FCA case of interest was decided by a U.S. Circuit Court in September. In US ex rel Parikh v Brown, the Court found that a county hospital and its administrator’s participation in a “simple, brazen kickback scheme” could not be shielded by qualified immunity. The hospital and its administrator... Continue Reading →Tags: AKS, Anti-Kickback, Brown, False Claims Act, FCA, Fifth Circuit, Parikh, qualified immunity, Stark
Three new FCA cases of interest were reported in the last few weeks. One was discussed previously on FCADefense.com in Toumey Loses Stark/FCA Case Again by Drew Howk. Another, Ulysses, Inc. v. United States 1 is yet another example of the growing trend of failed FCA counter-claims by the Government in response... Continue Reading →Tags: False Claims Act, FCA, Fresenius, Keltner, Lakeshore Medical Clinic, qui tam, South Carolina, Toumey, ulysses, whistleblower