Whistleblower News From The Inside -- March 17, 2016

By the C|C Whistleblower Lawyer Team

Ninth Circuit Holds Dodd-Frank Protects Internal Whistleblowing — The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit recently joined the Second Circuit in holding in Somers v. Digital Realty Trust that whistleblowers are protected under the Dodd-Frank Act if they report securities-law violations internally and not to the Securities and Exchange Commission. By contrast, the Fifth Circuit, the only other federal circuit to weigh in, held that only those who report to the SEC are protected as “whistleblowers” under Dodd-Frank. National Law Review

Airbus Probed by French Authorities as U.K. Fraud Case Widens — French authorities joined the U.K. in a corruption probe of Airbus Group SE centered on allegations of fraudulent practices related to selling planes and arranging aircraft financing.  The probe by the Parquet National Financier follows steps by the U.K.’s Serious Fraud Office in August to look into possible bribery and corruption in Airbus’s civil aviation business related to third-party consultants. Bloomberg

Spokane Area Cardiologist, Dr. Romeo Pavlic, to Pay $300,000 Resolving Alleged False Health Care Claim — The United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Washington announced a settlement agreement with Dr. Romeo Pavlic to resolve allegations that for years Dr. Pavlic falsely billed Medicare and Medicaid by repeatedly and falsely claiming to have provided services and tests to vulnerable patients when in fact he had not. DOJ