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Despite A Recent Ninth Circuit Decision, The Law Still Applies To Government-Sponsored Entity Cases

Posted 03/17/16

By Anne Hayes Hartman Two co-whistleblowers lost their bid before the Ninth Circuit last month to proceed with a False Claims Act case alleging that mortgage lenders and servicers defrauded Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Those who brought the case (the relators) alleged that the lenders and servicers (the defendants) violated the FCA by falsely certifying that loans purchased by Fannie and Freddie were free and...

Tagged in: Court Decision, Housing and Mortgage Fraud,

Fourth Circuit Dismisses Lawsuit Based on Lawyer’s Knowledge Under the Public Disclosure Bar of the False Claims Act

Posted 02/22/16

The Fourth Circuit ruled recently that a False Claims Act case must be dismissed because it was based on information that the attorney representing the qui tam plaintiff had learned during a prior litigation. In doing so, the court applied what has become known as the “public disclosure bar” – a provision in the False Claims Act that strips a court of jurisdiction to hear cases based on information that has...

Tagged in: Court Decision, FCA Federal, Public Disclosure and Public Information, Whistleblower Case,

Sixth Circuit Adds Further Uncertainty to the Question of Limits on False Claims Act Damages

Posted 02/11/16

By Hamsa Mahendranathan Violators of the False Claims Act can be subject to significant damages: the Act provides treble damages and civil penalties of between $5,500 and $11,000 for each false claim. But in some cases, the correct measure of damages can be a murky subject. This is especially true when considering whether the damages should account for any value the government received on the contract. Last...

Tagged in: Court Decision, Damages and Penalties, FCA Federal, Prevailing Wage,

Third Circuit Opens Door Wider For Whistleblowers Under Original Source Exception To False Claims Act Public Disclosure Bar

Posted 02/10/16

Under the False Claims Act, the public disclosure bar prevents whistleblower suits challenging fraud already disclosed through certain public channels like the news media. The rule is designed to discourage whistleblower actions based on information already in the public domain, unless it was the whistleblower that actually put it there. It is supposed to neatly balance the twin-goals of discouraging so-called...

Tagged in: Court Decision, FCA Federal, Original Source, Public Disclosure and Public Information,

Whistleblower Showdown Heads to Supreme Court

Posted 09/30/15

By Eric Havian (published on CFO.com) A recent decision by the Second Circuit Court of Appeals in New York has staged a showdown for the Supreme Court to decide what protections whistleblowers should receive when they report illegal activity internally and an employer retaliates as a result. However the Supreme Court decides, corporate officers should take a deep breath and think about the impact of the positions...

Tagged in: Court Decision, Retaliation, SEC Whistleblower Reward Program,

Ninth Circuit Victory For Whistleblowers In Narrowing "Public Disclosure" And "First-To-File" Bars To Bringing Qui Tam Actions

Posted 07/10/15

In a major victory for whistleblowers, the Ninth Circuit in United States ex rel. Hartpence v. Kinetic Concepts, Inc. narrowed the reach of two significant bars to bringing qui tam lawsuits under the False Claims Act. Under the so-called "public disclosure" bar, the Ninth Circuit reversed its own precedent and ruled the "original source" exception to the bar does not require the whistleblower to have played a role...

Tagged in: Court Decision, FCA Federal, Multiple Whistleblowers and First-to-File, Public Disclosure and Public Information, Whistleblower Case,

Have We Reached the Final Round In the Government's Tuomey Kickback Case?

Posted 07/10/15

The United States won another round in its now almost eight year battle to hold South Carolina-based Tuomey Healthcare System liable for paying doctors illegal kickbacks. The litigation has been long and procedurally complex, but at bottom, the Government has alleged, and the jury has found, that Tuomey gave a group of doctors unreasonably lucrative employment arrangements to get them to send their patients to...

Tagged in: Anti-Kickback and Stark, Court Decision, Healthcare Fraud,

Fourth Circuit Gives Expansive Read of False Claims Act Whistleblower Retaliation Protections

Posted 06/4/15

By the C|C Whistleblower Lawyer Team In its Young v. CHS Middle East, LLC decision last week, the Fourth Circuit provided an expanded view of the anti-retaliation protections afforded whistleblowers under the False Claims Act.* In doing so, it is one of the first courts of appeals to explicitly acknowledge the broadened whistleblower protections that follow from the False Claim Act amendments under the Fraud...

Tagged in: Court Decision, FCA Federal,

Seventh Circuit Gives Broad Read To What Constitutes A "Referral" Under Anti-Kickback Statute

Posted 02/26/15

Under the Anti-Kickback Statute, physicians may not solicit or receive kickbacks for referring Medicare patients to a particular healthcare provider. The question before the Seventh Circuit in United States v. Patel was the scope of what constitutes a referral under the statute. According to the Court, the scope is quite broad, even extending to situations where the physician plays no role in selecting the healthcare...

Tagged in: Anti-Kickback and Stark, Court Decision, Healthcare Fraud, Provider Fraud,

Fourth Circuit Joins Other Circuits In Narrow Read of Public Disclosure Bar

Posted 02/5/15

Under the False Claims Act, a whistleblower may be precluded from filing a qui tam lawsuit based on information that has already been publicly disclosed by another source. This so-called "public disclosure bar" is designed to weed out "parasitic" actions from those brought by whistleblowers with true inside knowledge of fraud. There has been some disagreement among the courts as to how "public" a disclosure must...

Tagged in: Court Decision, FCA Federal, Public Disclosure and Public Information, Whistleblower Case,

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Despite A Recent Ninth Circuit Decision, The Law Still Applies To Government-Sponsored Entity Cases

Fourth Circuit Dismisses Lawsuit Based on Lawyer’s Knowledge Under the Public Disclosure Bar of the False Claims Act

Sixth Circuit Adds Further Uncertainty to the Question of Limits on False Claims Act Damages

Third Circuit Opens Door Wider For Whistleblowers Under Original Source Exception To False Claims Act Public Disclosure Bar

Whistleblower Showdown Heads to Supreme Court

Ninth Circuit Victory For Whistleblowers In Narrowing "Public Disclosure" And "First-To-File" Bars To Bringing Qui Tam Actions

Have We Reached the Final Round In the Government's Tuomey Kickback Case?

Fourth Circuit Gives Expansive Read of False Claims Act Whistleblower Retaliation Protections

Seventh Circuit Gives Broad Read To What Constitutes A "Referral" Under Anti-Kickback Statute

Fourth Circuit Joins Other Circuits In Narrow Read of Public Disclosure Bar

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