Whistleblower lawyers based in Washington DC handling False Claims Act qui tam lawsuits nationwide
Our blog contains summaries of recent, significant, False Claims Act court rulings.
January 15, 2013
The U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland in United States v. Kernan Hosp., Civil Action No. RDB-11-2961, 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 165688 (D. Md. Nov. 20, 2012) (Bennett, J.), ruled that the False Claims Act (FCA), 31 U.S.C. §§ 3729 et seq., does not authorize the United States to issue a civil...
D.C. District Court Applies First-to-File Rule
January 14, 2013
In United States ex rel. Shea v. Verizon Business Network Servs., No. 1:09-cv-1050 (GK), 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 163525 (D.D.C. Nov. 15, 2012) (Kessler, J.), the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia held that the first-to-file rule in the False Claims Act (“FCA”), 31 U.S.C. §§ 3729 et seq., barred an action...
January 13, 2013
The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York in United States ex rel. Polansky v. Pfizer, Inc., 04 Civ. 0704 (BMC), 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 163557 (E.D.N.Y. Nov. 14, 2012) (Cogan, J.), ruled that a drug manufacturer did not submit false claims in violation of the False Claims Act (FCA), 31...
January 11, 2013
In Sanders v. Allison Engine Co., Nos. 10-3818/10-3821, 2012 U.S. App. LEXIS 22655 (6th Cir. Nov. 2, 2012), the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled on the effective date of the Fraud Enforcement and Recovery Act of 2009 (“FERA”) amendment to the False Claims Act (“FCA”) that clarified that the law imposes liability on...
January 10, 2013
In United States ex rel. Ge v. Takeda Pharm. Co., Civil Action Nos. 10-11043-FDS, 11-10343-FDS, 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 156752 (D. Mass. Nov. 1, 2012) (Saylor, J.), the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts held that the defendant drug companies’ compliance with the duty to report adverse drug events to the U.S....
U.S. District Court in South Carolina Rules on Permissible Counterclaims in FCA Action
December 21, 2012
In United States ex rel. Battiata v. Puchalski, No. 3:11-cv-3360-CMC, 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 155053 (D.S.C. Oct. 30, 2012) (Currie, J.), the U.S. District Court for the District of South Carolina held that the defendants, who were sued under the qui tam provisions of the False Claims Act (FCA), 31 U.S.C. §§ 3729 et...
December 20, 2012
In United States ex rel. Williams v. Renal Care Group, et al., No. 11-5779, 2012 U.S. App. LEXIS 20806 (6th Cir. Oct. 5, 2012), the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit issued important rulings concerning the application of the “alter ego” doctrine and the False Claims Act’s “reckless disregard” standard. The...
2nd Circuit Court of Appeals Rules on Proper Measure of Damage in Grant Fraud Case
December 19, 2012
In U.S. ex rel. Feldman v. Gorp and Cornell Univ. Medical Colleges, 2012 U.S. App. LEXIS 18667 (2nd Cir. Sept 5, 2012), the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit in an opinion authored by Judge Robert D. Sack upheld a trial court ruling that the proper measure of damages in a...
November 19, 2012
In United States ex rel. Nehls v. Omnicare, Inc., 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 102543 (E.D. Ill. July 23, 2013), the Eastern District of Illinois dismissed an FCA defendant’s state-law breach of fiduciary duty counterclaim against a relator because it implicitly and impermissibly sought a contribution from the relator in the event that the defendant...
Deciding Whether to File a Qui Tam Suit
March 29, 2012
Robert L. Vogel I. The “Qui Tam” Provisions of the False Claims Act. The False Claims Act, a civil statute, is often said to be the government’s primary tool for recovering monies lost as the result of fraud against the government. See S. Rep. No. 345, 99th Cong., 2d Sess. At 2 (1986), reprinted in...
The SAIC Case: A New Approach To False Claims Act Damages
August 29, 2011
Abigail Graber and Robert Vogel In the case of United States v. Science Applications International Corporation, 626 F.3d 1257 (D.C. Cir. 2010) (“SAIC”), the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia issued an important and broad-ranging decision interpreting the federal False Claims Act (“FCA”), 31 U.S.C. § 3729 et seq. The United States...
Liability Under the False Claims Act for Retained Overpayments: New Horizons
November 29, 2010
Shelley R. Slade1 In the Fraud Enforcement & Recovery Act of 2009 (FERA),2 Congress expanded the reach of the liability provisions of the federal False Claims Act (FCA)3 so that they now cover a health care provider’s “knowing” and “improper” retention of overpayments regardless of whether the provider makes a false statement to conceal the...