KBR Reaches $13 Million Settlement To Resolve Kickback Allegations - Kellogg Brown & Root Services Inc. and three related companies (collectively “KBR”) reached a $13.67 million settlement to resolve a suit alleging...more
In United States ex rel. Wollman v. Massachusetts Gen. Hosp., Inc., No. CV 15-11890-ADB, 2020 WL 4352915 (D. Mass. July 29, 2020), yet another district court agreed with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia...more
On March 14, U.S. Federal Judge Royce Lamberth granted Halliburton’s motion for summary judgment and dismissed Mr. Barko’s claims against Halliburton, filed under the False Claims Act (FCA), which, along the way, resulted in...more
You may recall that, back in July 2014, we advised that the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals had overturned a D.C. District Court decision in a False Claims Act case that required the results of an internal investigation, which...more
In United States ex rel. Gadbois v. PharMerica Corp., — F.3d —- (1st Cir. 2015), the First Circuit, in a matter of first impression, held that a relator’s complaint was not subject to dismissal under the first-to-file bar...more
Last month, for the second time, the D.C. Circuit in In re Kellogg Brown & Root Inc., No. 14-5319, slip op. (D.C. Cir. Aug. 11, 2015), granted a writ of mandamus sought by KBR and vacated a series of district court orders...more
On August 11, 2015, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit issued a writ of mandamus supporting the robust applicability of the attorney-client privilege and attorney work product doctrines in the context of False...more
In Kellogg Brown & Root Services, Inc. v. United States ex rel. Carter, 575 U.S. ___) (2015), Justice Alito stated “[t]he False Claims Act’s qui tam provisions present many interpretive challenges.” Lawyers and judges who...more
No Dog Days of August for the SEC—A Recap of a Busy Month - Why it matters: Who says there is a government slowdown in August? Not for the SEC. August 2015 turned out to be very busy indeed for the agency, which...more
For the second time in just over a year, the DC Circuit granted the extraordinary remedy of a writ of mandamus to protect a company’s assertion of privilege over materials relating to an internal investigation. In a...more
The first to file bar is a limitation on the rights of members of the public to commence certain litigation under the FCA. In essence, the first to file bar prevents a member of the public from commencing an action based...more
RESPONDING TO SUBPOENAS AND OTHER REQUESTS FOR PERSONAL HEALTH INFORMATION: TAKE THEM AT FACE VALUE - Healthcare providers and other HIPAA covered entities receive requests for protected health information (“PHI”) from...more
The ability to preserve privilege for highly sensitive internal investigations conducted at the direction of attorneys is alive and well. In a closely watched decision on the scope of the attorney-client privilege as applied...more
On August 11, 2015, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit granted a petition by Kellogg Brown & Root, Inc. (“KBR”) for a writ of mandamus in order to protect KBR’s assertion of attorney-client privilege over its...more
On August 11, 2015, in United States ex rel. Barko v. Halliburton et al., No. 14-5319, slip op. (D.C. Cir. Aug. 11, 2015), the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit issued an important opinion vacating another series of...more
In In re Kellogg Brown & Root, Inc., et al., No. 14-5319 (D.C. Cir. August 11, 2015), the Court reversed a district court’s ruling that KBR waived these protections by using materials created in the course of a privileged...more
In the ongoing saga which has been the subject of a previous post on this blog, a three-judge panel of the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals has once again found that the district court erred in ordering the production of the...more
False Claims Act practice is evolving in subtle ways that may particularly affect cases where the federal government does not intervene. Recent decisions help clarify the law’s “first-to-file” rule and who may pursue...more
The cost and risk associated with allegations under the FCA create a heightened importance on defining the scope of the claims that are at issue. Accordingly, the applicable statute of limitations is critical in determining...more
The Government Contracts Quarterly Update is published by BakerHostetler’s Government Contracts Practice team to inform our clients and friends of the latest developments in federal government contracting. ...more
Whether you are on the defense side or the relator side of the qui tam world, you can count the Supreme Court’s opinion in Kellogg, Brown & Root Services, Inc. v. United States ex. Rel. Carter as a win and a loss. Since...more
In a unanimous Supreme Court decision issued May 26, 2015, Kellogg Brown & Root Services, Inc. v. United States ex rel. Carter (KBR), Case No. 12-1497, the United States Supreme Court addressed two significant False Claims...more
On May 26, 2015, the United States Supreme Court issued a decision favoring whistleblowers in False Claims Act cases, basing its decision in part on the status of the trial of Socrates. ...more
On Wednesday the Supreme Court, in Kellogg Brown & Root Services, Inc. v. United States ex rel. Carter, No. 12-1497 (2015), held that the Wartime Suspension of Limitations Act (“WSLA”) only tolls the statute of limitations...more
On May 26, 2015, the Supreme Court unanimously rejected efforts of False Claims Act (FCA) qui tam relators to use the Wartime Suspension of Limitations Act (WSLA) to extend the statute of limitations for their actions. In...more