The Chartwell Chronicles: New Jersey Attorney Fees
Policyholders vs. Insurers: 3 Arguments to Make When Selecting Defense Counsel & Hourly Rates
Hinshaw Insurance Law TV: Recent Changes in Florida Property Insurance Law and How They Will Affect First Party Insurance
How to Secure Advances to Fund Legal Fees
Legislative Update: Cannabis, COVID-19, COMAR and More
Let's Talk About How Much It Costs To Get Divorced
Employment Law and Attorney Fees from the Employee Perspective | Jason Smith | Texas Appellate Law Podcast
Let's Talk Retaining a Family Law Lawyer
The Dangers of Untimely Filings – What Employers Need to Know
THE PAPER CHASE
VIDEO: Are PA Workers Compensation Attorney Fees Now Taken from Medical Benefits Too?
What Should I Do If My Employer Failed to Pay Me Wages?
6 Key Takeaways | Ethics Developments in California
Meritas Capability Webinar - Controlling Where to Fight and Who Pays for it?
Who pays attorney fees in a divorce proceeding?
SEC Whistleblower Program: What Employers Need to Know
Bill on Bankruptcy: Lawyers Must Disclose What Clients Pay
Bill on Bankruptcy: Stockton May Win the Battle, Lose the War
Most experienced False Claims Act (FCA) practitioners are all too familiar with the statutory provision requiring defendants to pay whistleblowers’ attorneys’ fees at the end of FCA cases. What is less commonly known is 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
The False Claims Act encourages whistleblowers to come forward when they suspect their employer is committing fraud. This post provides a general overview of the False Claims Act’s anti-retaliation provision, which protects...more
The United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, applying Kentucky law, has held that a D&O insurer did not need to cover its insured’s significant legal fees that stemmed from a whistleblower lawsuit and related...more
In a move that reminds us that successful defendants can—and should—seek attorneys’ fees in the right case, a magistrate judge in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit awarded pharmaceutical company Aventis Pharma...more
In the 2020 COVID-19 year, there were not that many construction-related cases decided by the California Courts of Appeal, and none by the California Supreme Court. However, there were a number of interesting cases that raise...more
State AGs in the News- Governor Newsom Nominates Rob Bonta for California Attorney General- •Governor Gavin Newsom nominated California Assemblyman Rob Bonta to replace Xavier Becerra as California AG. Bonta’s...more
On Tuesday, March 2, 2021, New York State Attorney General Letitia James and New York City Corporation Counsel James E. Johnson released a statement announcing their recovery of a $105 million settlement from a hedge fund...more
On February 3, 2020, the U.S. District Court for the District of Utah granted a motion for attorneys’ fees against Plaintiff Kelly Sorenson (“Sorenson”), finding that the claims Sorenson asserted against his former employer...more
2020 AG Elections- New Leadership Team at the Republican Attorneys General Association- •The Republican Attorneys General Association (“RAGA”) announced the election of the leadership team for its Executive Committee...more
On June 11, 2019, the Tenth Circuit affirmed an award of $92,592.75 in attorneys’ fees to the defendants in Pack v. Hickey, 776 F. App’x 549 (10th Cir. 2019). Pack had appealed the district court’s entry of summary judgment...more
Thanks to inexact language in a settlement agreement, a for-profit hospital chain can challenge whistleblowers’ eligibility for attorneys’ fees under the False Claims Act (“FCA”). The single sentence that spawned nearly 5...more
Public entities are known to assert False Claims actions “to up the ante” to intimidate and aggressively address contractor construction claims. This strategy in the case of John Ross of Industrial Sheet Metal, Inc. (JRI) V....more
As described in an April 17, 2018 article originally posted on the Sheppard Mullin Richter and Hampton, LLP False Claims Act Defense Blog, Kmart Corporation and the U.S. Department of Justice entered into a False Claims Act...more
A LOOK BACK... A LOOK AHEAD - While the uncertainty associated with legislative efforts to repeal the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) dominated most of the headlines for the healthcare industry last year,...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
Under the federal False Claims Act (FCA) the prevailing plaintiff — be it the government or a qui tam plaintiff — is automatically entitled to recover attorney fees. 31 U.S.C. § 3730(d)(1) and (2). Originally published in...more
On October 18, 2017, a federal district judge in Alaska ordered a former employee to pay nearly $170,000 of his ex-employer’s legal fees as sanction for removing nine attorney-client privileged documents prior to his...more
Sixth Circuit awards attorneys’ fees to False Claims Act defendant against the U.S. government in case involving underpayment of Davis-Bacon Act wages. ...more
There are two major, interrelated reasons why government contractors, including Medicare providers, are so afraid of the False Claims Act (FCA). One is the draconian nature of the liability: treble damages plus up to $21,916...more
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit recently concluded that a contractor should obtain an award of attorney fees for having to defend against an “unreasonable” False Claims Act (“FCA”) suit. In United States ex....more
In a bombshell opinion, the Illinois Appellate Court held that a law firm serving both as client and attorney may not recover statutory attorneys’ fees under the Illinois False Claims Act (the Act). In People ex rel. Schad,...more
The Vulnerability of Healthcare Information - According to a report the Brookings Institute issued in May 2016, 23% of all data breaches occur in the healthcare industry. Nearly 90% of healthcare organizations had some...more
The Supreme Court of the United States issued decisions in three cases on June 16, 2016: Universal Health Services, Inc. v. United States ex rel. Escobar, No. 15-7: Yarushka Rivera, a teenage beneficiary of...more
Lawyers are aware of the increasing sensitivity—and hostility—of clients to block-billing: lumping more than one activity into a single time entry. A new Fifth Circuit decision shows that courts can be equally sensitive—and...more