False Claims Act: Implied Certification Theory
On July 25, 2023, Senator Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) and Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL.) introduced amendments to the False Claims Act (FCA), a law that protects the federal government from fraud, saving taxpayers billions. The FCA...more
The Supreme Court issued a number of headline-grabbing decisions this term on topics like religious accommodation, LGBTQ protections, and consideration of race in college admissions. These decisions are wide-reaching and...more
On June 1, 2023, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a unanimous opinion in United States ex rel. Schutte v. SuperValu Inc. reversing a pair of False Claims Act (FCA) cases on review from the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals. In...more
On June 1, 2023, the Supreme Court eliminated the “objectively reasonable” potential defense in False Claims Act cases, clarifying that the knowledge or scienter element for a False Claims Act (“FCA”) case is satisfied by...more
On June 1, 2023, the Supreme Court decided a pair of closely watched False Claims Act (FCA) cases, U.S. ex rel. Schutte v. SuperValu Inc., No. 21-1326, and U.S. ex rel. Proctor v. Safeway, Inc., No. 22-111....more
On April 18, 2023, the U.S. Supreme Court (SCOTUS) heard oral argument in the most significant False Claims Act (FCA) case to reach the Court in recent years. The Court is examining the scienter requirement in the FCA –...more
Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) recently criticized “activist judges” for rewriting the text of the False Claims Act to achieve their own policy goals, revealing plans to reintroduce legislation that would correct “unduly...more
In what may lead to the biggest FCA opinion in recent history, the U.S. Supreme Court earlier this month agreed to consider two cases addressing the necessary state of mind (i.e., “scienter”) to violate the FCA....more
In what could be the most significant development for False Claims Act (FCA) jurisprudence since Universal Health Services v. United States ex rel. Escobar, on January 13, 2023, the US Supreme Court agreed to consider whether...more
Courts are grappling with unique questions in the context of managed care programs in False Claims Act (FCA) cases. But are they getting it right? Two questions trending in courts relate to: (1) materiality under the FCA when...more
On December 2, the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Virginia granted a motion to dismiss a False Claims Act (FCA) lawsuit brought by the United States and the Commonwealth of Virginia, which alleged that a...more
On October 28, the Senate Committee on the Judiciary approved for consideration by the full Senate the False Claims Amendments Act of 2021 (“FCA-2021”). The primary sponsor of the bill (S. 2428) is Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA),...more
The Department of Justice recently announced a new initiative that aims to hold government contractors accountable when they fail to meet required cybersecurity standards. In announcing the “Civil Cyber-Fraud Initiative” in...more
According to a recent decision in United States ex rel. Scollick v. Narula, Case No. 14-cv-1339 (D.D.C. Nov. 6, 2020), the fraudulent inducement theory of False Claims Act (“FCA”) liability does not require plaintiffs to...more
In the latest instance of courts interpreting the Supreme Court’s landmark False Claims Act ruling in Universal Health Services, Inc. v. Escobar, the Eleventh Circuit recently departed from the trend of giving great weight in...more
Ten Individuals Charged for $1.4 Billion Health Care Billing Schemem - On June 29, an indictment was unsealed charging ten individuals with health care fraud and wire fraud for allegedly participating in a pass-through...more
This is the second post of a two-part discussion of recent developments related to the materiality standard set forth by the Supreme Court in Universal Health Services v. U.S. ex rel. Escobar. Read our previous post, which...more
This is the first post of a two-part discussion of recent developments related to the materiality standard set forth by the Supreme Court in Universal Health Services, Inc. v. U.S. ex rel. Escobar. Our second post will cover...more
On October 31, 2019, the Office of General Counsel for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) issued an important memo from Kelly M. Cleary, CMS Chief Legal Officer, and Brenna E. Jenny, Deputy General...more
In Cochise Consultancy Inc. v. United States, ex rel. Hunt, the Supreme Court expanded the time in which False Claims Act (“FCA”) lawsuits may be filed by qui tam relators in which the government does not intervene. The Court...more
The Supreme Court denied a petition for certiorari last Monday in U.S. ex rel. Prather v. Brookdale Senior Living Communities, Inc., No. 17-5826 (6th Cir. June 11, 2018), again declining to revisit or clarify the False Claims...more
In 2016, the U.S. Supreme Court handed down its decision in Universal Health Services, Inc. v. U.S. ex rel. Escobar confirming the viability of the implied false certification theory in False Claims Act (FCA) cases and...more
The pace of False Claims Act (FCA) litigation remained furious over the past year. Companies (and individuals) in all sectors of the economy continue to face the ever-present threat of FCA enforcement whenever they do...more
The United States Department of Justice (DOJ) filed an amicus curiae brief with the Supreme Court on November 30, 2018 in a closely watched False Claims Act (FCA) lawsuit, after the Supreme Court asked for the Solicitor...more
On November 20, 2018, Defendants-Petitioners in Brookdale Senior Living Communities, Inc. v. U.S. ex rel. Prather (Brookdale), filed a petition for writ of certiorari with the U.S. Supreme Court (the High Court) asking the...more