Qui Tam

Subscribe to Qui Tam via RSS

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

Companies regularly are required to interpret ambiguous and vague regulatory provisions. Today, the United States Supreme Court heard oral arguments in a pair of consolidated cases to determine whether a defendant’s subjective interpretation of an ambiguous regulation is relevant to determining the knowledge (or scienter) element of the False Claims Act or, as the Seventh Circuit held in the case below, that once a defendant can articulate an objectively reasonable interpretation its contemporaneously held subjective belief is irrelevant to the knowledge inquiry. The issue is a significant one for both the government and relators on one side, and potential defendants on the other, as False Claims Act (FCA) liability imposes treble damages and penalties exceeding $20,000 per claim as well as relators’ attorneys’ fees and costs.Continue Reading Supreme Court Hears Arguments on False Claims Act Scienter Standard

The DOJ is empowered under the FCA to seek dismissal of unmeritorious qui tam suits brought in its name. The DOJ has historically used this power sparingly. We are happy to report, however, that more dismissals may be on the horizon.

On January 10, 2018, Michael Granston, Director of the Commercial Litigation Branch of the Fraud Section of the U.S. Department of Justice circulated an internal memorandum that was published last week in the legal press. The memorandum collects cases in which the Department sought dismissal of unmeritorious qui tams. It categorizes these cases into seven factors that DOJ attorneys should consider when evaluating whether the government should seek to dismiss a qui tam.

Nearly all FCA recoveries against healthcare entities in the last three years came from cases filed by qui tam relators. In other words, of $7.3 billion recovered from healthcare entities in 2015-17, $6.9 billion of that originated from qui tam suits. The Department of Justice’s guidance is welcome news for healthcare entities as it will likely further stymie unmeritorious qui tam litigation.

The following article, “DOJ Formalizes Guidance for Government Dismissal of Unmeritorious Qui Tam Suits,” by Michael Paddock, David T. Fischer and Matthew Turetzky was previously posted on January 25, 2018, on the Sheppard Mullin False Claims Act Defense Blog.
Continue Reading The Department of Justice Delivers Some Good News to the Healthcare Industry: New False Claims Act Guidance Predicts More Challenges to Qui Tam Plaintiffs