On December 11, 2024, the Supreme Court dismissed NVIDIA Corporation’s appeal, allowing a class action securities fraud case to move forward towards trial. The Plaintiffs originally brought the case in the United States...more
In this blog post, we will explore the knowledge element. Despite being a fraud statute, the FCA does not require specific intent to defraud the government to impose liability. Instead, the FCA defines culpable “knowing,”...more
Due to federal illegality, the cannabis industry has long been plagued by federal agencies taking a variety of different enforcement approaches to cannabis businesses. From the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office to the National...more
The False Claims Act (FCA) permits private individuals to bring lawsuits in the name of the United States—called qui tam—against those they believe have defrauded the federal government: 31 U.S.C. § 3730(b). The FCA thereby...more
In 2021, there was a mass shooting at a high school in Michigan in which four students were killed. As a result of this shooting, not only was the shooter prosecuted, but the parents of the shooter were charged with criminal...more
Last month in United States ex rel. Schutte, et al. v. SuperValu Inc. et al, the Supreme Court unanimously held (with Justice Thomas writing the opinion) that the False Claims Act’s (“FCA”) scienter element refers to a...more
The U.S. Supreme Court on April 18, 2023, heard oral arguments on a critical issue in False Claims Act (FCA) cases – the defendant's state of mind (i.e., scienter). The statute ascribes liability to anyone who "knowingly"...more
At the end of last year, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) proposed changes to the so-called 60-day repayment rule. The proposed changes include eliminating the current “reasonable diligence” standard that...more
The United States Supreme Court recently granted certiorari in a pair of cases out of the Seventh Circuit that will finally resolve a longstanding circuit split on the question of “scienter” under the False Claims Act...more
On Friday, January 13, the Supreme Court agreed to consider whether the False Claims Act (“FCA”) covers compliance lapses tied to regulatory interpretations that are incorrect but “objectively reasonable.” The Supreme Court...more
Rapid growth, which usually indicates a positive stage for companies, comes with potential downsides, as seen in the cautionary tale of Toll Holdings. Background- The Office of Foreign Asset Controls (OFAC) fined Toll...more
Last month, HBO released its new drama series Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty – based on the book Showtime: Magic, Kareem, Riley and the Los Angeles Lakers Dynasty of the 1980s by Jeff Pearlman. ...more
The U.S. Department of Labor is becoming more aggressive in its enforcement of the Fair Labor Standards Act and this aggressiveness is nowhere better exemplified than in the health care industry, where compliance issues...more
The Trademark Modernization Act, many aspects of which went into effect December 27, 2021, implemented numerous changes to United States trademark practice, including codification of letters of protest, changes to the...more
The Department of Justice (DOJ) recently announced a new “Cyber-Fraud Initiative” aimed at “developing actionable recommendations to enhance and expand [DOJ’s] efforts against cyber threats.” The initiative will be part of...more
Twelve years after the Federal Circuit’s landmark In re Bose decision on fraud, the U.S. Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (“TTAB”) has answered one of the questions not reached by Bose: whether reckless disregard of the truth...more
In a recent precedential TTAB case, Chutter, Inc. v. Great Management Group, LLC and Chutter, Inc. v. Great Concepts, LLC, 21 USPQ2d 1001 (TTAB 2021), the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board found that reckless disregard for the...more
The October 2021 issue of Sterne Kessler's MarkIt to Market® newsletter discusses a precedential TTAB decision regarding fraud; the DEA's proposal to increase production quotas for several schedule I controlled substances,...more
Every time a plaintiff files a FLSA lawsuit, they seek a third year, one longer than the usual two year statute of limitations, claiming that the violations were “willful.” It has become a matter of course and defendant...more
This week, the Ninth Circuit came back from the Thanksgiving break with a bang, issuing three long-awaited en banc decisions in criminal and immigration cases. Here at Left Coast, however, we’ve focused on two other civil...more
When an accident happens due to someone else's negligence, an injured person is able to recover compensatory damages from the at-fault party or their insurance carrier. For instance, if an innocent driver is injured in a...more
Ohio House Bill 606 grants temporary immunity from civil actions related to the transmission of COVID-19 and limited immunity to health care providers related to civil actions and professional disciplinary actions. On...more
California’s bill to authorize tax-based false claims actions—allowing private, profit-motivated parties to bring punitive civil enforcement lawsuits—cleared the Assembly Judiciary Committee on May 11 in a party-line vote....more
The revived False Claims expansion bill in California, A.B. 2570, is on the agenda to be heard by the Assembly Judiciary Committee on May 11 at 10:00 am PDT. The proposal would authorize tax-based false claims actions,...more
The Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Asset Control (OFAC”) continues its enforcement run. In a recent case against Haverly Systems, Inc., OFAC sent an important reminder to US companies about compliance with the...more