On June 21, 2022, the Supreme Court agreed to review a US Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit decision holding that the federal government’s ability to dismiss False Claims Act (FCA) lawsuits is controlled by Federal Rule...more
The United States Supreme Court recently granted review of a decision from the Third Circuit that affirmed the dismissal of an FCA case at the government’s request. Polansky v. Exec. Health Res., 17 F.4th 376, 393 (3d Cir....more
On February 1, 2022, the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) announced that it had recovered $5.6 billion from False Claims Act (FCA) Cases during fiscal year 2021. Each year, the DOJ publishes statistics about its...more
On June 28, 2021, the United States Supreme Court denied review of a Seventh Circuit decision affirming the Department of Justice (“DOJ”)-requested dismissal of a False Claims Act (“FCA”) suit alleging a drug kickback scheme....more
Senior DOJ Official Michael Granston Discusses COVID Relief Enforcement, Granston Memo, and other FCA Issues - Michael Granston, the Deputy Assistant Attorney General of the DOJ Civil Division, sat down this week with Jody...more
Earlier this summer, Ethan P. Davis, Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Division of the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) delivered remarks addressing DOJ’s top priorities for enforcement actions related...more
The Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals recently decided a case that created a new standard to assess requests by the Department of Justice (DOJ) to dismiss declined qui tam (whistleblower) suits under the False Claims Act...more
As has been emphasized with the disclosure of the “Granston Memo” in January 2018 and several cases since, the government may request dismissal of a qui tam action filed under the False Claims Act (“FCA”), 31 U.S.C. § 3729 et...more
As previously discussed in a Law360 article by Jeffrey Belkin and Michael Mortorano, the DOJ’s Granston memo, dated January 10, 2018, “advised DOJ attorneys that, in tandem with their decisions to decline intervention in qui...more
As I wrote two weeks ago, the Department of Justice (DOJ) recently released its annual fiscal year statistics on False Claims Act (FCA) and fraud matters. The report shows Fiscal Year 2019 was another big year for the FCA, as...more
The False Claims Act (FCA) includes a provision that allows the government to file a motion to dismiss a whistleblower's qui tam lawsuit over the whistleblower's objection if the whistleblower "has been notified by the...more
Earlier this month, the United States Department of Justice issued a press release to announce recoveries of over $3 billion from False Claims Act cases in FY2019. In making the announcement, Assistant Attorney General Jody...more
Editors’ Note: This is the fourth in our start-of-year series examining important trends in white collar law and investigations in the coming year. Our previous entry discussed anti-corruption trends in 2020. Up next: a look...more
The “Granston Memo” has proven to be a boon again in 2019 for False Claims Act (“FCA”) defendants. In a January 15, 2019 Sheppard Mullin FCA Defense Blog article, we highlighted a growing movement by the Department of Justice...more
The Department of Justice can move to dismiss a whistleblower’s claim under the False Claims Act without first holding an in-person hearing, the Third Circuit recently ruled in Chang v. Children’s Advocacy Center of Delaware,...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
Just days after the twelfth anniversary of the Minnesota 35W bridge collapse, the Eighth Circuit summarily affirmed the dismissal of a False Claims Act case alleging that Minnesota government officials conspired to submit...more
On August 20, 2019, the United States exercised its authority under the False Claims Act (FCA) to seek dismissal of a relator’s qui tam suit because of the defendant’s burdensome discovery demands, in Polansky v. Executive...more
• Escobar doctrinally and conceptually transformed the FCA. • Relators and the government have developed strategies to neutralize Escobar. • Defendants must avoid certain new traps that could enhance their exposure to...more
DOJ’s enforcement policy for the False Claims Act (FCA) has largely been static for 30 years or maybe since the forgotten 1998 Holder memo that set out guidelines to assure the FCA was not recklessly deployed for provider...more
In two recent decisions, federal district courts in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania and the Southern District of Illinois, respectively, considered the Government’s motions to dismiss False Claims Act (FCA) lawsuits...more
Introduction - In this first installment of the Health Care Enforcement Quarterly Roundup for 2019, we continue to monitor trends we identified in 2018 and introduce new enforcement efforts that are expected to persist in...more
Recent actions by the DOJ suggest that although the DOJ may continue to prosecute certain relators’ FCA cases, other relators may find themselves on the other side of a government motion to dismiss. Originally published in...more
At a conference earlier this year, Deputy Associate General Stephen Cox offered further guidance on a number of topics central to the DOJ’s enforcement attitude in FCA actions over the past several years. Cox’s comments help...more
As reflected in recent remarks by Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) is “reinforcing its relationship with good corporate citizens” by coordinating with, and considering, the...more