A former prosecutor for the United States Department of Justice has pled guilty to attempting to sell sealed False Claims cases to the defendants in those cases and to transporting stolen goods across state lines. Jeffrey Wertkin was a DOJ prosecutor who had entered private practice with Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld. Mr. Wertkin… Continue Reading
The FCA contains several provisions that are aimed at discouraging “parasitic” or duplicative qui tam actions. One such provision, known as the “government-action bar,” prohibits relators from bring a qui tam action “based upon allegations or transactions which are the subject of a civil suit . . . in which the Government is already a… Continue Reading
On September 11, 2017, in United States and State of Nevada ex rel. Welch v. My Left Foot Children’s Therapy, LLC, the Ninth Circuit held that an arbitration agreement between an employee-relator and her former employer was not broad enough to cover the Relator’s whistleblower claims under the FCA. This opinion raises questions as to… Continue Reading
The Department of Justice has announced new, increased civil penalties that are applicable under the False Claims Act (FCA). The new range of FCA penalties is from $10,957 to $21,916. These increased statutory penalties reflect a continuing, inflation-based increase to the available statutory penalties. This marks the second year in a row in which the applicable penalties under… Continue Reading
The United States Supreme Court’s landmark decision in Escobar, which we have discussed previously, upheld the use of the implied certification theory where the implied certification of statutory/regulatory compliance is material to the government’s decision to pay the claims at issue. See generally Universal Health Servs., Inc. v. United States and Commonwealth of Mass. ex… Continue Reading
Created in 2006, Medicare Part D is a government program that subsidizes the cost of prescription drugs to Medicare beneficiaries. The program is run through “Plan Sponsors” – private entities that receive a fixed monthly payment from the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (“CMS”) and subcontract with Pharmacy Benefit Managers to provide prescription drug… Continue Reading
On April 19, 2016, the United States Supreme Court heard oral arguments in the case of Universal Health Services v. U.S. ex rel. Escobar. The Universal Health Services case was brought by two relators whose child had been seeing a counselor at UHS and who came to learn that the counselor was not licensed. The relators’ child… Continue Reading
In fiscal year 2015, more than $1 Billion of the Government’s False Claims Act (FCA) recovery was derived from cases in which the Government declined to intervene. This significant recovery far exceeds the typical, annual recovery that is obtained by relators without Government intervention. During the past decade, the Government has intervened in approximately 20-24%… Continue Reading
The public disclosure bar is a statutorily created hurdle that plaintiffs must cross to successfully maintain a False Claims Act suit. The principle was originally enacted to prevent individuals from filing “parasitic” False Claims Act (FCA) lawsuits that were not based on their independent knowledge. The public disclosure bar has undergone several statutory changes during… Continue Reading
The United States Department of Justice has announced that it has recovered over $3.5 Billion from cases brought under the False Claims Act (FCA) in fiscal year 2015. This significant aggregate recovery is a slight decline from the $5.69 Billion that was recovered in fiscal year 2014; however, it is the fourth consecutive year in… Continue Reading
Over the past decade, efforts to enforce health care fraud regulations have been bolstered significantly with increased government funding and a dramatic increase in whistleblower claims filed under the False Claims Act’s qui tam provisions. The majority of FCA civil litigation in 2014, approximately 70 percent, resulted from these whistleblower claims and the substantial majority… Continue Reading
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 where an earlier-filed action based on the same underlying facts was settled and dismissed while the relator’s… Continue Reading
It is often stated that the sine qua non (the indispensable and essential action) of a violation of the False Claims Act (FCA) is the submission of a false or fraudulent claim. This principle has been recognized and cited in federal courts throughout the country. A recent case that was decided in the United States… Continue Reading
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 upon facts that have already been placed at issue in another piece of FCA litigation. Specifically, “[w]hen a person brings an action… Continue Reading
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 both whether allegations of FCA are timely filed and in limiting the extent of the claims at issue if the… Continue Reading
In prior years, sampling has been at issue in FCA cases largely in the context of damages. Specifically, where there were allegations of a specific course of wrongful conduct that allegedly impacted large volumes of claims, sampling could be used to determine and extrapolate damages. However, a couple of recent decisions have suggested an expanded… Continue Reading
On February 3, 2015, United States ex rel. Wilson v. Graham Cnty. Soil & Water Conservation Dist., No. 13-2345, 2015 WL 427649, 2015 U.S. App. LEXIS 1663 (4th Cir. Feb. 3, 2015), the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals reversed the district court’s public disclosure bar dismissal, holding that reports circulated only amongst government officials does… Continue Reading
In recent years, there has been a steadily increasing number of cases that have been brought under the False Claims Act by qui tam relators (whistleblowers). Between 2008 and 2014, the number of False Claims cases filed by such whistleblowers has grown from 379 cases filed in 2008 to 713 such cases being filed in… Continue Reading
A significant number of cases that are brought under the False Claims Act are brought by qui tam relators (whistleblowers) who bring claims seeking relief on behalf of the Government. The number of whistleblower cases that are filed annually has nearly doubled between 2008 and 2014. The Government has a right to review and decide… Continue Reading
In United States ex rel. Oliver v. Philip Morris USA, Inc., No. 08-0034, 2015 WL 1941578 (D.D.C. Apr. 30, 2015), the district court—applying the 2008 version of the False Claims Act (“FCA”)—found that the relator’s complaint was subject to dismissal due to the public disclosure bar. At the time the relator filed its complaint, 31… Continue Reading
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