Judge Engelmayer’s 107-page dismissal of most of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)’s claims against SolarWinds provides valuable guidance, and some comfort, for public companies and Chief Information Security...more
Last week, the United States Supreme Court granted certiorari in NVIDIA Corp. v. E. Ohman J:Or Fonder AB., Case No. 23-970, to address two fundamental questions about how federal securities fraud cases must be pled to survive...more
To state a cause of action for fraud, a plaintiff must allege “a material misrepresentation of a fact, knowledge of its falsity, an intent to induce reliance, justifiable reliance by the plaintiff and damages.” The...more
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 Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) issued its much-anticipated opinion in United States ex rel. Schutte v. SuperValu Inc. and United States ex rel. Proctor v. Safeway, Inc. (Schutte), holding...more
On June 1, 2023, in U.S. ex rel. Schutte v. SuperValu Inc., the Supreme Court clarified the state-of-mind (or “scienter”) standard under the False Claims Act (FCA), holding that a defendant’s subjective belief that a claim...more
Recent Filings Shed Light on DOJ’s View of Supreme Court’s Recent FCA Ruling - On June 1, 2023, the US Supreme Court explained that an assessment of a defendant’s subjective beliefs — rather than what an objectively...more
As we predicted, the Supreme Court held that a business could be exposed to substantial damages under the False Claims Act (FCA) if it incorrectly applies ambiguous rules or regulations. The unanimity of the opinion—which we...more
On June 7, 2023, the Securities and Exchange Commission adopted final rule 9j-1 (“Rule 9j-1”)1 under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the “Act”). Rule 9j-1 is designed to prevent fraud, manipulation, and deception in...more
Two separate lawsuits alleging False Claims Act (FCA) violations by retail drug pharmacies made their way to the Supreme Court of the United States this term. The lawsuits decided whether the pharmacies could defeat these...more
On June 1, 2023, the U.S. Supreme Court issued its highly anticipated decision in the consolidated cases United States ex rel. Schutte v. SuperValu Inc. and United States ex rel. Proctor v. Safeway, Inc., Nos. 21-1326 &...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 U.S. Supreme Court released a unanimous decision in U.S. ex rel. Schutte v. SuperValu Inc., No. 21-1326; U.S. ex rel. Proctor v. Safeway, Inc., No. 22-111, clarifying the False Claims Act’s scienter...more
The SuperValu case arose from separate lawsuits against two companies that operate retail drug pharmacies across the country: SuperValu Inc. and Safeway, Inc. In each case, a whistleblower – on behalf of the federal...more
A defendant’s knowledge of and subjective beliefs about the meaning of legal requirements—not what an objectively reasonable person may have believed—are what matters when determining whether a defendant “knowingly” submitted...more
For background on this case, please refer to Part I. For updates from the Supreme Court oral arguments on April 18, please refer to Part II. On Thursday, June 1, the Supreme Court issued its opinion in United States et al....more
The Supreme Court recently issued a significant decision clarifying what it means to “knowingly” submit a false claim under the False Claims Act. At issue in United States ex rel. Schutte v. SuperValu Inc. were allegations...more
Supreme Court FCA Scienter Ruling Revives Fraud Lawsuits Against Safeway and SuperValu On Thursday, the US Supreme Court issued its highly anticipated ruling regarding the threshold of liability under the False Claims Act...more
On June 1, 2023, the Supreme Court issued a unanimous decision holding that the scienter element of the False Claims Act (“FCA”) is met if a defendant subjectively knew his or her claims were false and submitted them anyway....more
The U.S. Supreme Court on June 1, 2023, unanimously settled a pivotal dispute over the subjective versus objective standard for scienter under the False Claims Act (FCA). In this case, U.S. ex rel. Schutte v. SuperValu Inc.,...more
On April 18, 2023, the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) heard oral arguments in a pair of monumental False Claims Act (FCA) cases to decide whether and when a defendant’s subjective understanding of an objectively...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
In 2022, the False Claims Act (FCA) continued to be the federal government’s chief tool for combatting fraud. Many trends in recent years were likewise present in 2022: robust FCA enforcement generally, healthcare as the...more
The United States Supreme Court recently granted certiorari in a pair of cases out of the Seventh Circuit that will finally resolve a longstanding circuit split on the question of “scienter” under the False Claims Act...more