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 in the building. However, the whistleblower could not find even a single instance in which it actually happened. Instead, he argued that there was a statistical possibility it might have happened. The Court stated its conclusion in no uncertain terms:

As the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals has repeatedly stated, “summary judgment is the ‘put up or shut up’ moment in the life of a case.” In this case, Tucker has simply failed to “put up” evidence of an actual, specific false claim or statement knowingly made by Nayak in an effort to obtain payment from the United States. Now, the Court is left with no choice but to grant summary judgment for Nayak.

The Defendant was represented by David B. Honig, of Hall, Render, Killian, Heath & Lyman.

For more information, please contact David B. Honig at dhonig@hallrender.com or (317) 977-1447.