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
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
An Indiana Federal District Court just published an opinion on an issue of first impression in the Seventh Circuit, the ability of the government to reject or approve a settlement in a case in which they did not intervene. The court also opined on the ability of a whistleblower to... Continue Reading →Tags: False Claims Act, FCA, Howze, settlement, Sleep Centers, whistleblower
On May 26, 2015, the United States Supreme Court issued its decision in Kellog Brown & Root Service, Inv. et al. v. United States ex rel. Carter, 575 U.S. ____ (2015), Case No. 12-1497. Most of the commentary on the case centers around the Court’s decision on the Wartime Suspension... Continue Reading →Tags: bar, Brown, Carter, False Claims Act, FCA, first to file, Kellogg, original source, prejudice, public disclosure, qui tam, Root, settlement, whistleblower
Written by David B. Honig and Ritu Kaur Cooper. On February 3, 2015, the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that disclosures to the public officials responsible for managing the subject of a False Claims Act lawsuit did not qualify as “public disclosures” for the purpose of the FCA’s public disclosure bar. US... Continue Reading →Tags: audit, Bank of Farmington, compliance, David B. Honig, False Claims Act, FCA, Graham County, original source, public disclosure, qui tam, Rita Kaur Cooper, self-disclosure, whistleblower
The Fifth Circuit rejected the government’s attempt to expand the FCA’s reach to include non-government funds overseen by a non-governmental entity simply because the government had the ability to exert a modicum of control over the entity.... Continue Reading →Tags: 12(b)(6), Fifth Circuit, government contractor, motion to dismiss, qui tam, Texas, whistleblower
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
— False Claims Act defense attorneys have been warning government contractors, particularly Medicare and Medicaid providers, of increased risks and a reduced ability to defend against whistleblower complaints since the passage of the Fraud Enforcement Recovery Act of 2009 (“FERA”). The greatest risk comes from FERA’s addition of a new... Continue Reading →Tags: False Claims Act, FCA, Keltner, Lakeshore, Milwaukee, overpayment, qui tam, retained, whistleblower, Wisconsin
Appellate Court Cases Three appellate-level FCA cases were reported in January and February 2013. Only one, U.S. ex rel. Nathan v. Takeda Pharmaceuticals North America, Inc., 1 was selected for publication. All three cases addressed Rule 9(b)’s requirement that allegations of fraud be lead “with particularity.” The cases, read together,... Continue Reading →Tags: Abbott, Bender, Conn, Conrad, Deck, False Claims Act, FCA, Griffith, Jajdelski, Kaplan, Miami Jacobs, Nathan, North American Communications, qui tam, relator, Takeda, whistleblower
Pleading a False Claims Act case can be a tricky exercise, and in defending an FCA case, it is important to know just what the rules are for a whistleblower, and how they can fail to meet them. One of the most common mistakes made by whistleblowers is failing to “plead fraud... Continue Reading →Tags: Camillo, False Claims Act, FCA, Fowler, fraud with particularity, Gross, Nayak, Rolls-Royce, Rule 9(b), whistleblower