False Claims Act - When Does Embellishing Become Fraud?
What is Fraud and How to Defend Against the Claim
The Supreme Court is currently deciding whether to hear a case that could have significant implications for auditors, law firms, and other professional services companies that assist public companies. Amicus briefs filed on...more
The U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York on July 18, 2024, dismissed most of the SEC's landmark cyber enforcement litigation against SolarWinds Corp. (SolarWinds or the Company) and the Company's Chief...more
When corporate executives discuss important company news in SEC filings or on stock-analyst conference calls, they know their words will be scrutinized by listeners and the broader market. Misstatements could give rise to...more
The American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (“AICPA”) Auditing Standards Board issued Statement on Auditing Standards No. 138 and Statement on Standards for Attestation Engagements No. 20 to amend the concept of...more
Editor’s Note: This is the second in a five-part series on how U.S. district courts and courts of appeal have applied the materiality standard set forth in Universal Health Services, Inc. v. United States ex rel. Escobar, 136...more
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit recently decided a case that could have a substantial impact on False Claims Act (“FCA”) jurisprudence with respect to the element of “materiality.” In U.S. ex rel. Joshua...more
The Situation: In Spay v. CVS Caremark Corp., the Third Circuit became the latest court of appeals to hold that, in False Claims Act litigation, scienter can be lacking when the government has knowledge of "the facts...more
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit vacated a $663 million judgment, concluding that the Supreme Court’s opinion in Escobar doomed the plaintiff’s FCA claims on the issue of materiality....more
Bass, Berry & Sims attorney Chris Lazarini discussed the class action suit brought against Party City alleging the company failed to disclose material facts in SEC documents when it did not discuss the impact the decline in...more
In responding to the Securities and Exchange Commission’s recent Municipalities Continuing Disclosure Cooperation (MCDC) initiative, the unanswered question for many municipalities and broker-dealers was determining whether...more
In Erica P. John Fund, Inc. v. Halliburton Co., No. 12-10544, 2013 WL 1809760 (5th Cir. Apr. 30, 2013), the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit held that a defendant in a securities fraud class action is not...more