Articles and Blogs

In 2010, the False Claims Act (“FCA”) was extensively amended to limit the public disclosure bar and to expand the ability of whistleblowers to qualify as “original sources” in qui tam litigation. This month, the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals took an in-depth look at both provisions, in the case US ex rel. Moore & Co.... READ MORE

The Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals just issued its decision in US ex rel. Nelson v. Sanford-Brown, Ltd.. This decision is sure to find its way into briefs and arguments for years to come in False Claims Act (“FCA”) cases. It touched upon many of the different ways a qui tam relator can fail to bring an... READ MORE

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 of Limitations Act, but... READ MORE

Today the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals joined several other Circuit Courts in finding that an administrative review, and even a repayment to the appropriate government oversight entity, did not qualify as a “public disclosure” under the False Claims Act’s public disclosure bar. READ MORE

A clearly irate Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals reversed summary judgment granted on behalf of Shell Exploration and Development Company, for the second time, and remanded with an order that the case be assigned to a new judge. In United States ex rel. Little v. Shell Exploration the Fifth Circuit, for the second time, reversed the trial... READ MORE

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 ex rel. Wilson v.... READ MORE

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 alleged Renown improperly billed... READ MORE

The Seventh Circuit reversed a district court’s decision finding that it lacked jurisdiction over a whistleblower’s claim under the False Claim Act’s public disclosure bar. In U.S. ex rel. Heath v. Wisconsin Bell, Inc., the Court held that even though the Complaint relied in part upon publicly available information, the Relator’s allegations rested upon... READ MORE

Consumers can now compare results from home health agencies (HHA) patient surveys on the Quality Care Finder website.  These results are designed to create incentives for HHAs to improve quality of care, as well as to give patients additional information as to the type of care they will receive from a particular agency.  The Centers... READ MORE