In the summer of 2023, Justice Thomas suggested in a dissenting opinion in U.S. ex rel. Polansky v. Executive Health Resources that Article II of the Constitution might not permit a qui tam relator to sue in the name of the...more
The qui tam provisions of the False Claims Act allow individuals to file suit on behalf of the United States and to receive a share of the resulting financial settlement or judgment. Filing a qui tam case is not just a formal...more
This landmark decision, if upheld on appeal, has the potential to drastically reduce the number of False Claims Act actions brought against government contractors. A U.S. District Court in Florida held that the qui tam...more
Last term, in U.S. ex rel. Polansky v. Exec. Health Res., Inc., three Justices noted that there are “substantial arguments” that the False Claims Act’s (FCA) qui tam provisions do not conform with Article II of the...more
This July, we detailed the Supreme Court’s surprising revival in United States ex rel. Polansky v. Exec. Health Resources, No. 21-1052 (S. Ct. June 16, 2023) of the question of whether the qui tam provisions of the False...more
Do the qui tam provisions of the False Claims Act (FCA), see 31 U.S.C. § 3730(b)(1), violate the Executive Branch’s exclusive grant of authority under Article II of the United States Constitution? This long-dormant question...more
DOJ may dismiss qui tam False Claims Act cases at any point, as long as it intervenes in the case and satisfies the deferential Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 41(a) standard. The US Supreme Court, in its 8-1 June 16,...more
On June 16, 2023, the United States Supreme Court issued an 8-1 decision in the case of United States, ex rel. Polansky v. Executive Health Resources, Inc., which held that the Department of Justice (DOJ) can move to dismiss...more
The Department of Justice (DOJ) dismissal authority: Supreme Court will resolve Circuit split in standard, but DOJ seems unlikely to pick more fights with relators. For nearly two decades, when DOJ invoked its authority...more