Episode 322 -- Checking in on Caremark Cases
The federal government awards billions of dollars each year in sponsored research funding to institutions of higher education, academic research institutions, non-profit organizations, and companies—making federal grants an...more
On November 30, 2022, the Third Circuit Court of Appeals vacated dismissal of a retaliation action brought by Don Ascolese (“Ascolese”) under the False Claims Act (“FCA”). See United States ex rel. Don Ascolese v. Shoemaker...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
Despite unprecedented disruptions to the court system from the COVID-19 pandemic, plaintiffs continued to bring securities class actions at elevated levels in 2020 — a sign that filings will remain high in the year ahead....more
The Background: In early December, the Supreme Court denied a whistleblower's request to review the Fifth Circuit's affirmance of the district court's dismissal of a False Claims Act ("FCA") case. This denial left the...more
This quarter’s issue includes summaries and associated court opinions of selected cases principally decided between July and October 2020. Class Certification - Cryptocurrency – Definition of a Security - Derivative...more
On September 21, 2020, in a published 2-1 opinion in Doe v. Google Inc., the California Court of Appeal (Dist. 1, Div. 4), permitted three current and former Google employees to proceed with their challenge of Google’s...more
On October 8, 2020, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit reversed the dismissal of a putative securities fraud class action in a decision that provides additional guidance concerning the standard for pleading loss...more
Four years have passed since Congress enacted the Defend Trade Secrets Act (“DTSA”) in 2016, and federal courts have developed a new body of law based on this relatively young statute. The DTSA provides a private civil cause...more
There is a growing consensus that False Claims Act (“FCA”) filings will increase in light of the vast sums of government money entering the economic bloodstream. Whistleblowers will be on the lookout for what is predicted to...more
On September 18, 2019, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York granted a defendant-employer’s motion to dismiss a SOX whistleblower retaliation claim, finding that the plaintiff failed to adequately...more
On July 19, 2019, the U.S. District Court for the District of Rhode Island granted an employer’s motion to dismiss a SOX whistleblower claim, holding that the Plaintiff—an in-house attorney—failed to allege sufficient facts...more
On May 23, 2019, the Illinois Supreme Court issued a ruling in Kenrick Roberts v. Board of Trustees of Community College District No. 508, reaffirming the pleading standards for both common law retaliatory discharge and...more
On January 15, 2019, the First Circuit ruled that a plaintiff adequately alleges protected activity under the FCA whistleblower protection provision where he asserts that he reported concerns about his employer’s conduct that...more
Last week, the Second Circuit held that a False Claims Act relator does not have to plead details of specific alleged false billings or invoices to the government, as long as he can allege facts leading to a strong inference...more
This quarter’s issue includes summaries and associated court opinions of selected cases principally decided between February 2017 and April 2017. The cases address developing trends in class actions, ERISA, fiduciary duties,...more
A recent decision of the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit addressed the standard that courts should use to decide whether a whistleblower plaintiff has adequately pleaded that a defendant committed fraud...more
On December 15, 2015, the District of Connecticut refused to dismiss a SOX whistleblower retaliation claim, ruling that: (1) the heightened Rule 9(b) pleading standard for fraud claims does not apply to SOX whistleblower...more
False Claims Act practice is evolving in subtle ways that may particularly affect cases where the federal government does not intervene. Recent decisions help clarify the law’s “first-to-file” rule and who may pursue...more
On January 8, 2015, the Fourth Circuit determined that, amid a circuit split, the “implied certification” theory of liability under the False Claims Act (“FCA”) was viable in the Fourth Circuit. United States v. Triple...more
As the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2014-15 term draws to a conclusion, the Court has resolved — or will resolve in a matter of days — several cases with potentially wide-reaching implications for a range of important policy and...more
In This Issue: - U.S. Supreme Court: ..Omnicare, Inc. v. Laborers Dist. Council Constr. Indus. Pension Fund, 135 S. Ct. 1318 (4th Cir. Mar. 16, 2015) - Auditor Liability: ..In re Advanced Battery Techs.,...more
The last time we heard about Susan Thayer’s whistleblower suit against Planned Parenthood, a federal district court in Iowa had thrown it out because she hadn’t provided any specific examples of fraud and therefore had failed...more
In U.S. ex rel. Williams v. McKesson Corp., No. 3:12-CV-0371-B (N.D. Tex. July 9, 2014), a Texas federal court recently dismissed a qui tam whistleblower suit by a former employee of McKesson, a Texas-based entity that...more
Last week, the Third Circuit reversed a New Jersey district court’s decision to dismiss a False Claims Act (FCA) qui tam law suit, holding that the court applied an overly demanding pleading standard to relator Thomas...more