Whistleblower News From The Inside -- March 20, 2017

By the C|C Whistleblower Lawyer Team

After SCOTUS’ ‘Escobar’ Decision, Courts Increasingly Sink Implied-Certification FCA Suits – Since the June 2016 Supreme Court decision in Escobar, several federal courts have strictly interpreted the viability of implied-certification suits. A recent example in US ex rel. McBride v. Haliburton in the United States Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit demonstrates this new focus. Forbes

Jury Awards Whistle-Blower $2 Million in SF Sewer-Fraud Case –  A jury ruled Friday that San Francisco must award a former deputy city attorney more than $2 million in damages in a lawsuit that said she was fired for exposing a long-running illegal payment scheme between municipal officials and plumbing companies. A unanimous jury decision in San Francisco Superior Court found the city violated statutes under both the California Whistleblower Protection Act and False Claims Act in the firing of Joanne Hoeper. SF Chronicle

UBS ‘Very Pessimistic’ About Settling Tax Fraud Case in France – UBS Group AG is “very pessimistic” about reaching an agreement with French authorities to settle a case of alleged tax fraud that forced the bank to post a 1.1 billion-euro ($1.2 billion) bond to cover any potential penalties three years ago, Journal du Dimanche reported. France’s financial prosecutor is seeking a 1.1 billion-euro fine from UBS to settle the case with no admission of guilt from the lender, the French newspaper said Sunday, citing unidentified sources. Bloomberg