In a potential watershed decision issued on February 26, 2025, the United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas ruled, in U.S. ex rel. Taylor v. Healthcare Associates of Texas, that the civil penalties...more
On February 26, 2025, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas issued a significant False Claims Act (FCA) ruling in United States of America ex rel. Cheryl Taylor v. Healthcare Associates of Texas, LLC,...more
Following a jury's verdict, a federal court slashed civil penalties under the False Claims Act ("FCA") as violative of the Constitution's 8th Amendment....more
In its recent decision in United States v. Leeds, the United States District Court for the District of Idaho upheld the application of willful penalties against a deceased husband for failing to report certain foreign bank...more
The US government and private plaintiffs use the False Claims Act (FCA) – a federal statute originally enacted in 1863 in response to defense contractor fraud during the American Civil War – to combat various forms of fraud...more
U.S. Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals - USA v. Charles - sentencing - Miller v. Ramirez - qualified immunity, deferring ruling - Chapman v. Dunn - prison conditions, Eighth Amendment - USA v. Horn - securities...more
We have seen a dramatic increase in housing insecurity among our pro bono clients in recent years. Unfortunately, it’s part of an alarming nationwide trend. According to a recent report issued by the U.S. Department of...more
In 2024, federal courts issued a number of important decisions in False Claims Act (FCA) cases that are particularly noteworthy for the health care and life sciences industries. We focus here on decisions that further develop...more
On September 20, 2024, a U.S. District Judge for the District of Oregon rejected new challenges to the constitutionality of the Corporate Transparency Act (CTA) in Firestone, et al. v. Janet Yellen, et al. Case No....more
In United States v. Schwarzbaum, the Eleventh Circuit recently held that certain penalties for failure to file FBARs violated the Excessive Fines Clause of the Eighth Amendment. The district court in this case had agreed...more
Conflicting Decisions: In August, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit held in United States v. Schwarzbaum that a monetary civil penalty imposed for willfully failing to file a foreign bank account report...more
On September 20, the District Court for the District of Oregon denied a motion for a preliminary injunction enjoining enforcement of the Corporate Transparency Act (CTA) on the basis that the plaintiffs’ claim that the CTA...more
So far this year, three False Claims Act defendants have challenged judgments against them based on the Excessive Fines Clause of the Eighth Amendment. Remarkably, two were successful, as the District of Minnesota more than...more
For years, FBAR litigants have made the commonsense argument that large willful FBAR penalties, which can exceed the value of the unreported foreign accounts themselves, violate the excessive fines clause of the Eighth...more
Public-camping ordinances across Virginia and the United States dodged a constitutional bullet that would have prohibited criminal penalties for violations those laws if the defendant did not have adequate access to shelter. ...more
The Situation: The False Claims Act ("FCA") imposes treble damages on defendants, as well as mandatory penalties per false claim. Because alleged false claims often involve much smaller amounts—for example, in cases with a...more
As lawyers, we work with words. We bend them, conjoin them, manipulate them, and often seek to redefine them. Working in certain legal fields, we often take for granted the common vernacular used in those fields. Terms such...more
In the high-stakes realm of False Claims Act (FCA) litigation per-claim penalties can reach daunting levels that dwarf even treble damages. A recent ruling from the Eighth Circuit Court provides valuable guidance on the...more
On June 28, 2024, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a decision in City of Grants Pass, Oregon v. Johnson finding municipal ordinances prohibiting camping on public property to be a constitutional exercise of local government...more
In response to a class action suit by homeless people challenging several anti-camping ordinances in the city of Grant Pass, OR, the U.S. Supreme Court explored the contours of the Eighth Amendment (“8A”) of the U.S....more
Policymakers have several tools for addressing the rising issue of homelessness in their communities. In City of Grants Pass, Oregon v. Johnson, No. 23-175603 (June 28, 2024), the U.S. Supreme Court (“Court”) had its first...more
The Supreme Court of the United States issued four decisions today: Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo, No. 22-451; Relentless v. Department of Commerce, No. 22-1219: These cases, decided in a single opinion, address...more
On June 28, 2024, the Supreme Court of the United States decided City of Grants Pass, Oregon v. Johnson, No. 23-175, holding that the Cruel and Unusual Punishments Clause of the Eighth Amendment of the United States...more
Key Points: There is a constitutional right to medical care for those individuals in custody. Although there is a right to have a government actor intervene when the underlying constitutional violation involves excessive...more
Virginia’s Constitution automatically disqualifies all persons convicted of any felony from voting unless their civil rights are restored by the Governor. See Va. Const. art. II, § 1. In a recent case, two plaintiffs...more