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Kate Rumsey

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Kate Rumsey is special counsel in the Governmental Practice Group in the firm's Dallas office. Kate is a former federal prosecutor and experienced trial lawyer.

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A federal district court in the Middle District of Florida issued a decision on Sept. 30th that threatens the federal government’s continued reliance on the False Claims Act (“FCA”) as the most powerful weapon in the Department of Justice’s enforcement arsenal. U.S. District Judge Kathryn Kimball Mizelle threw out a case against a group of Medicare Advantage organizations and providers on the grounds that an individual whistleblower suing on behalf of the federal government under the FCA, often called a “relator” in a “qui tam” lawsuit, violates the U.S. Constitution’s “appointments clause.” The Court concluded that relators, who are acting on behalf of the federal government, must be considered officers of the government and appointed in a manner consistent with Constitutional requirements. See U.S. ex rel Zafirov v. Florida Medical Associates, LLC, No. 8:19-cv-1236, 2024 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 176626, ECF No. 346 (M.D. Fl. Sept. 30, 2024).Continue Reading FCA Whistleblowers – No More?

Yesterday, the Supreme Court issued a unanimous decision holding that the aggravated identity theft statute –and its mandatory minimum of two years – is not triggered merely because someone else’s identification facilitates or furthers the offense in some way. See Dubin v. United States. We have seen a growing trend of the government adding aggravated identity theft in healthcare fraud cases. As a result of this decision, we may see that statute far less.Continue Reading Is this “Good-Bye” to the Two Year Mandatory Minimum in Healthcare Fraud Cases?

Yesterday, 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. See United States ex rel. Schutte v. SuperValu Inc. and United States ex rel. Proctor v. Safeway. The Court’s ruling was narrow and avoided the more challenging—and common—issues raised during oral argument (which we previously discussed here).Continue Reading Supreme Court Clarifies that Subjective (Not Objective) Knowledge of Falsity of Claim Dictates False Claims Act Liability