Articles and Blogs

The United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit issued an opinion creating a national divide on when a relator is an “original source” of an FCA claim, finding that a relator’s secondhand knowledge of fraud was “direct” knowledge. Facts of the Case In United States ex rel. Banigan v. PharMerica, Inc.[1], a... READ MORE

On January 9, 2020, the Department of Justice (“DOJ”) announced that it collected over $3 billion in settlements and judgments under the False Claims Act (“FCA”) in the federal fiscal year 2019. The FCA has historically been the government’s primary tool for combatting perceived fraud, waste and abuse in the health care system, and... READ MORE

The Eastern District of Texas affirmed the Government’s right to dismiss FCA actions over a whistleblower’s objections. The Court held that the Government may dismiss claims to avoid the costs of extended litigation. The United States Declined to Intervene Health Choice Alliance, LLC filed an FCA action alleging that the defendants defrauded the United... READ MORE

On July 11, 2019, the Office of Inspector General (“OIG”) for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (“HHS”) released the new Grant Self-Disclosure Program Guidance (“Grant Guidance”) for HHS grant recipients and subrecipients. Through the Grant Guidance, OIG provides new self-reporting options for HHS grant recipients and subrecipients who determine that they... READ MORE

Last week, a federal district court in Illinois entered judgment for Defendants in an FCA action against a self-proclaimed “one stop shop” health care referral management company, alleging anti-kickback and FCA violations for its arrangement with a care coordination organization for low-income seniors.[1] Originally filed in 2016, this case highlights how even an FCA... READ MORE

Litigators and litigants should always be wary of templates, unconsidered boilerplate pleadings—and unnecessary motion practice. Last week, a federal court in Wisconsin struck boilerplate affirmative defenses that lacked “short and plain statement of the facts and…the necessary elements of the defenses.”[1] The ruling reinforced the Seventh Circuit’s standards for affirmative defenses—even though the judge... READ MORE

On July 5, 2019, the United States Court of Appeals, District of Columbia Circuit issued an opinion enforcing Supreme Court precedent that the False Claims Act (“FCA”) should be reserved for true fraud against the government—not “garden-variety regulatory violations.” In U.S. ex rel. Kasowitz Benson Torres LLP v. BASF Corp.,[1] the D.C. Circuit reviewed... READ MORE

This week, the United States Supreme Court ruled that the government’s 10-year deadline to file FCA actions could be extended to whistleblowers. The Court’s decision in Cochise Consultancy, Inc. et al. v. United States ex rel. Hunt[1] resolved a circuit split that had dogged the courts, whistleblowers and defendants for decades. Health care providers... READ MORE

The DOJ’s recent revisions to its Justice Manual created a new path for self-disclosing potential fraud to the government – one which is unique in its ability to defray the costs of potential False Claims Act violations. In 2015, Deputy Attorney General Sally Quillian Yates released a memo entitled Individual Accountability for Corporate Wrongdoing, more... READ MORE

The U.S. government’s unilateral investigative powers under the False Claims Act were bolstered by a ruling from the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California last week. Ruling on a Petition for Summary Enforcement of a Civil Investigative Demand (“CID”), the court held: Settlement discussions with a person or entity involved in... READ MORE