Bar Exam Toolbox Podcast Episode 72: Tackling a California Bar Exam Essay: Civil Procedure
In a significant ruling, the Second Circuit Court of Appeals recently expanded the scope of the Anti-Kickback Statute (AKS).The Court joined other circuit courts across the country in adopting, for the first time, the...more
The Supreme Court’s 2016 decision in Universal Health Services, Inc. v. United States ex rel. Escobar resolved a Circuit split regarding the implied certification theory as a basis for False Claims Act (FCA) liability. While...more
Because qui tam claims sound in fraud, under precedent and Rule 9(b) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, relators are required to plead their claims with a heightened degree of specificity that many, having limited...more
On October 17, 2022, the Supreme Court denied certiorari in three cases asking the court to resolve a circuit split regarding the application of the particularity pleading requirement for allegations of fraud in False Claims...more
The US' ongoing trade wars—with various trading partners and particularly with China—are everywhere in the news. Putting politics and policy aside, the "trade wars" reflect a basic disagreement over the rules that should...more
The recent federal court opinion issued in United States ex rel. Integra Med Analytics, LLC v. Baylor Scott & White Health, et al, illustrates the continued importance of examining the plausibility of allegations made in qui...more
On July 31, 2019, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit affirmed a lower court’s decision to grant summary judgment to hospital operator HCA and dismiss relator Thomas Bingham’s allegations. Bingham v. HCA (S.D....more
The U.S. District Court for the Central District of California recently dismissed a complaint-in-intervention filed by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) in U.S. ex rel. Swoben v. Secure Horizons. As previously reported,...more
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit recently issued an opinion addressing the False Claims Act's intent requirement. U.S. ex rel. Phalp v. Lincare Holdings, Inc., No. 16-10532, ___ F.3d ___ (11th Cir. May 26,...more
The Escobar and Sanford-Brown Decisions - This summer, the United States Supreme Court undertook to resolve the long-running circuit split over the validity and scope of the implied false certification theory of...more
In the three months since the U.S. Supreme Court issued its decision in Universal Health Services v. United States ex rel. Escobar, lower court decisions suggest a trend of strict interpretation of the high court’s...more
On June 16, 2016, a unanimous Supreme Court issued its long-awaited decision in Universal Health Services v. United States ex rel. Escobar (“Escobar”). The Court ruled that under certain circumstances the theory of “implied...more
The Supreme Court’s decision in Universal Health Services v. United States ex rel. Escobar reframes when falsity may be implied under the False Claims Act (FCA) and raises the bar for materiality under the statute. Though the...more
We previously reported on the viability of the “implied certification” theory of FCA liability based on oral argument before the Supreme Court in Universal Health Services, Inc. v. U.S. ex rel. Escobar. We concluded that the...more
Yesterday, the United States Supreme Court decided Universal Health Services, Inc. v. United States ex rel. Escobar et al., holding that the so-called “implied certification” theory is viable under the False Claims Act...more
On June 16, 2016, the Supreme Court issued its opinion (“Op.”) in Universal Health Services v. U.S. ex rel. Escobar (“Escobar”), a case testing the viability and scope of the implied certification theory of False Claims Act...more
On September 21, 2015, counsel for AT&T, Inc., and other telecommunications providers asked the U.S. Supreme Court to resolve a circuit split over what relators asserting FCA claims must do to meet Federal Rule of Civil...more
On September 22, 2015, the U.S. District Court for the District of Utah dismissed a qui tam complaint brought against Triumph Gear Systems, Inc. (“TGS”) and its parent company Triumph Group, Inc. (“Triumph”). In an opinion...more
On September 16, 2015, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Chicago dismissed a False Claims Act (FCA) case against the City of Chicago, because the qui tam complaint did not satisfy the relevant pleading...more
Not every mistake or negligent act gives rise to liability under the False Claims Act. That principle has long been central to the FCA. But the dividing line– between making a mistake, on the one hand, and “knowingly” or...more
In an unpublished decision issued on Thursday, August 13, 2015, the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals reemphasized Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 9(b)’s “stringent particularity requirement” when it affirmed a lower court’s...more