False Claims Act Insights - Are the FCA’s Qui Tam Provisions Unconstitutional? One Federal Judge Says “Yes"
False Claims Act Insights - Assessing the Fallout from a Thermonuclear FCA Verdict
FCA Uncovered: Mitigating Risk in the Regulatory Spotlight — Regulatory Oversight Podcast
False Claims Act Insights - Think You Know Whistleblowers? Think Again.
Fraud and Abuse Enforcement Priorities in the Wake of COVID-19 - Diagnosing Health Care Podcast
In a recent decision, the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit determined that its decades-long ban on customs-based False Claims Act actions does not apply to qui tam relator actions. The decision leaves the ban in...more
The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in Island Industries v. Sigma Corp., upheld a lower court jury determination that an importer of welded pipe fittings is liable for $8 million in unpaid antidumping duties under the False...more
It has long been the law of the Eleventh Circuit that, under the False Claims Act (FCA) and Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 9(b), a relator must provide sufficient “indicia of reliability … to support the allegation of an...more
On Feb. 18, 2025, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit adopted the “but for” causality standard for violations of the federal Anti-Kickback Statute (AKS) that give rise to violations of the federal False Claims Act...more
In a much-anticipated decision, the First Circuit unanimously ruled the government and relators must prove that a violation of the federal Anti-Kickback Statute (AKS) was the “but-for” cause of a false claim under the False...more
As we anticipated in our October 17, 2024, blog, both the Government and the Relator have appealed the district court’s decision in U.S. ex rel. Zafirov v. Florida Medical Associates, LLC, et al. (Zafirov), the first case to...more
On September 30, 2024, the US District Court for the Middle District of Florida dismissed a False Claims Act (FCA) case on the grounds that the qui tam provision of the FCA is unconstitutional. This ruling will almost...more
The False Claims Act (FCA), 31 U.S.C. § 3729, prohibits federal contractors and others from defrauding the government through the submission of false claims that cause the government to pay too much or receive too little. The...more
On August 6, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit issued a significant opinion that clarifies the requirements for pleading a reverse false claim under the False Claims Act (FCA). - The Second Circuit joined...more
On March 12, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit issued an important decision that sheds light on the test for determining scienter under the federal Anti-Kickback Statute (AKS). The Second Circuit reasoned that...more
The US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit denied a petition for panel rehearing and rehearing en banc and issued an amended opinion that reversed a district court’s decision regarding the False Claims Act’s (FCA) public...more
Is there a limit on the number of times the federal government can request extensions of the 60-day period under seal to decide whether to intervene in a qui tam relator's False Claims Act (FCA) case? The appellants in U.S....more
On November 28, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit held that the service-of-process clock for a False Claims Act (FCA) qui tam complaint begins to run when the district court orders the complaint to be served,...more
The Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals recently affirmed judgment against relators in a case alleging that a group of dairy farmers growing corn violated the False Claims Act by filing false insurance claims paid by the Federal...more
The US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit reversed a district court’s decision to dismiss a qui tam action brought under the False Claims Act (FCA) after analyzing the public disclosure bar channels. The case required the...more
The First Circuit gave defendant AthenaHealth something extra to celebrate this past holiday season when on December 21, 2022, in United States ex rel. Lovell v. AthenaHealth, Inc., it denied relators’ claims for over $1...more
On January 8, 2021, in the first appellate decision of the year addressing a False Claims Act case, the Fourth Circuit affirmed the summary judgment dismissal of relators’ claims that a manufacturer of allergenic extracts...more
In United States ex rel. Cimznhca, LLC v. UCB, Inc., the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals weighed in on a Circuit Court of Appeals dispute over the correct standard to apply to the government’s decision to dismiss a qui tam...more
The Department of Justice (DOJ) recently released its report detailing the settlements and judgments obtained in 2019 from civil cases involving fraud and abuse claims. As in years past, the substantial majority of these...more
Following the passage of the Affordable Care Act (“ACA”), which placed new limits on physician-owned hospitals, St. Luke’s Health System (“System”) took action to change one of its hospital’s ownership structures through a...more
The “Granston Memo” has proven to be a boon again in 2019 for False Claims Act (“FCA”) defendants. In a January 15, 2019 Sheppard Mullin FCA Defense Blog article, we highlighted a growing movement by the Department of Justice...more
The Second Circuit Court of Appeals recently emphasized the heightened pleading standard that a relator in a qui tam False Claims Act (“FCA”) suit must satisfy to avoid dismissal under Rule 12(b)(6). United States ex rel....more
In a recent 9-0 decision issued by the United States Supreme Court (SCOTUS), the Court has set to rest the applicable statutes of limitations for claims brought under the False Claims Act, 31 U.S.C. §3731(b) (FCA). Cochise...more
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit recently issued a False Claims Act (FCA) decision calling into question productivity-based physician compensation structures under the Stark Law, in reliance on a controversial...more
The US Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit endorsed two controversial interpretations of the Stark Law’s “volume or value” standard, known as the correlation theory and the practice “loss” theory in U.S. ex rel. J. William...more