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
As we do every year, this issue revisits the key cases and other developments from the year gone by. And by most metrics, 2023 was a notable year for the False Claims Act (FCA). We start with the numbers: The Department...more
On June 1, 2023, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a unanimous opinion in United States ex rel. Schutte v. SuperValu Inc. reversing a pair of False Claims Act (FCA) cases on review from the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals. In...more
On June 1, 2023, the Supreme Court decided a pair of closely watched False Claims Act (FCA) cases, U.S. ex rel. Schutte v. SuperValu Inc., No. 21-1326, and U.S. ex rel. Proctor v. Safeway, Inc., No. 22-111....more
On April 18, the Supreme Court heard oral argument and what has been billed as the most important False Claims Act (FCA) case in a decade. Since the FCA was enacted in the Civil War era, it has been the primary tool for the...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
Oral arguments are scheduled for April 18, 2023, in the Supreme Court case combining two Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals cases U.S. ex rel. Schutte v. SuperValu, Inc. (“SuperValu”) and U.S. ex rel. Thomas Proctor v. Safeway,...more
On January 13, 2023, the Supreme Court granted certiorari in a pair of consolidated cases from the Seventh Circuit that could result in one of the most consequential False Claims Act (FCA) decisions since the FCA was amended...more
The False Claims Act, 31 U.S.C. § 3729, et seq. is the federal government’s primary and most effective tool for fighting fraud. This post provides an overview of the elements that plaintiffs must satisfy to establish...more
On January 25, in United States ex rel. Sheldon v. Allergan, No. 20-2330 (4th Cir., Jan. 25, 2022), the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit upheld a lower-court dismissal of a False Claims Act (FCA) case...more
Last week, the Third Circuit joined several other appellate courts in finding that medical opinions related to medical necessity of hospice services can be subject to scrutiny and found to be “false” for purposes of proving a...more
The United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit ruled last week that whistleblower relators need not show “objective falsity” to prove their claims, and that a dispute among physician experts about a clinical...more
On September 9, in a setback for AseraCare but an overall win for hospice providers, the Eleventh Circuit affirmed a Northern District of Alabama decision to grant a new trial in a False Claims Act (FCA) case against...more
Federal False Claims Act (FCA) recoveries in fiscal year 2018 amounted to $2.88 billion, down by roughly $600 million from the prior year and dropping below $3 billion for the first time in eight years. Healthcare cases,...more
In its June 2016 decision in Universal Health Services, Inc. v. United States ex rel. Escobar, 136 S. Ct. 1989 (2016), the Supreme Court held that implied certification claims are viable under the False Claims Act (FCA), but...more