Civil Practice Note 7, entitled “Vexatious Application/Proceeding Show Cause Procedure” (CPN 7), is a useful tool to manage hopeless litigation quickly and efficiently. Introduced in 2018, it is a summary procedure under Rule...more
On February 21, 2020, the cruise ship Grand Princess embarked from San Francisco, headed to Hawaii. Among the ship’s 3,533 passengers and crew were 62 people who had been exposed to COVID-19 on the ship’s immediate prior trip...more
On June 8, 2020, the Supreme Court decided Lomax v. Ortiz-Marquez, No. 18-8369, holding that the Prison Litigation Reform Act of 1995 (PLRA) prevents a prisoner who has had at least three lawsuits dismissed because they were...more
In a recent case, a seventh grade boy was written up by his teacher because she saw him selling candy in class. The student told an assistant principal that he had hidden the candy in the bottom of a garbage can, and a later...more
The Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit recently weighed in on a relator’s right to a hearing where the government moves to dismiss a declined qui tam case, holding that the False Claims Act (FCA) does not guarantee a...more
Reaffirming that the plaintiff in a patent case has the burden of establishing that venue is proper, the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit affirmed a district court’s dismissal. The Court ultimately denied the...more
The jury was still deliberating over the personal injury case in Showan v. Pressdee, No. 1:16-cv-00468-ODE (N.D. Ga.), when the senior U.S. district judge decided to “get the ball rolling” on an expected motion for damages...more
The Department of Justice (DOJ) appears to be taking to heart the policy articulated in what has come to be called the Granston Memo, as it has recently sought dismissal of 11 False Claims Act (FCA) cases in various federal...more
In Part 3 of our series on health care investigations, Mark Rush and John Lawrence discuss the process for external investigations conducted by federal and state governmental agencies, including in the context of qui tam...more
A recent dismissal of a qui tam action demonstrates there exists an affirmative approach for disposing of wasteful and meritless non-intervened qui tam claims without the time and expense of protracted litigation with...more
The U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey denied an employee’s request to reopen her case based on alleged changed attitudes “post-Weinstein.” The Court also denied the employer’s request for sanctions but...more
A recent decision by the W. Va. Supreme Court of Appeals confirms the importance of pre-suit notice and the viability of a motion to dismiss in challenging claimants’ actions arising under the Medical Professional Liability...more
Most practitioners are aware that the statute of limitations under the False Claims Act (FCA) is six years after the date on which the violation is committed. 31 U.S.C. § 3731(b)(1). That is, unless the FCA’s tolling...more
Rejecting the views of the Fourth and Tenth Circuits, the Eleventh Circuit held the FCA’s three year statute of limitations period in § 3731(b)(2) applies to a relator’s claim even when the United States declines to...more
A recently leaked U.S. Department of Justice (“DOJ”) memorandum asks government attorneys to consider seeking the outright dismissal of “meritless” qui tam actions filed under the False Claims Act (“FCA”). The eight-page...more
The recent leak of an internal U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ or Department) memorandum setting forth considerations for dismissal of civil cases brought under the False Claims Act (FCA) offers helpful guidance not only to...more
• Under the FCA there are multiple circuit court splits related to how power should be allocated between the United States and the relator and whether the relator has contributed sufficient value to merit obtaining a...more
• Department of Justice (DOJ) has released a memorandum detailing seven nonexhaustive factors to be considered by its attorneys in making the important determination of whether to dismiss False Claims Act (FCA) qui tam...more
Although historically reluctant to seek dismissal of qui tam actions filed under the False Claims Act ("FCA"), the Department of Justice ("DOJ") recently issued an eight-page memorandum providing guidance to DOJ attorneys...more
The Department of Justice (DOJ) has recently issued two new memoranda that reflect a sea change in DOJ’s intervention in and enforcement of False Claims Act (FCA) claims. ..On January 25, 2018, the Associate Attorney...more
A recently leaked internal memorandum (“Memorandum”) suggests the end is near for the Department of Justice (DOJ) practice of sitting idly by while relators use meritless qui tam actions to shake down companies unwilling to...more
In a recent memorandum, the US Department of Justice provided guidance to its attorneys on when they should seek dismissal of False Claims Act cases filed by relators. This appears to be the first directive advising DOJ...more
Is the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) going to dismiss more meritless qui tam actions brought under the False Claims Act (FCA)? At a conference on Oct. 30, 2017, Michael Granston, the Director of DOJ's Civil Fraud Section,...more
The Situation: Despite recently acknowledging the significant burden imposed by frivolous False Claims Act claims and affirming its statutory grant of power to dismiss meritless claims brought by relators, DOJ has maintained...more
Wisconsin’s exclusive remedy of worker’s compensation has long been a bulwark against civil suits brought by employees (subject to a few narrow exceptions not applicable here). This bulwark has survived a creative attack in...more