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Category: Relators

Enforcement / False Statement / Relators

5 Feb, 2020

DOJ’s Procurement Collusion Strike Force Priorities Highlighted By Bid-Rigging Qui Tam Settlement

In an article published late last year, Dorsey reported on the Department of Justice’s announcement regarding the formation of a new Procurement Collusion Strike Force.  The Strike Force focuses on the nexus between antitrust and public procurement, with the stated aim of targeting antitrust crimes “such as bid-rigging conspiracies and related fraudulent schemes.”  If there was any question whether DOJ was serious about targeting such...

Enforcement / Relators / Settlements

28 Jan, 2020

Justice Department Touts FY2019 False Claims Act Statistics as Evidence of Administration’s “High Priority” Against Fraud, but the Numbers Show Less of a Priority on Qui Tams

Earlier this month, the United States Department of Justice issued a press release to announce recoveries of over $3 billion from False Claims Act cases in FY2019. In making the announcement, Assistant Attorney General Jody Hunt of the Civil Division emphasized, “The significant number of settlements and judgments obtained over the past year demonstrate the high priority this administration places on deterring fraud against the...

Kickbacks / Relators / Settlements

4 Feb, 2019

Relator Strikes Twice Against Walgreens

For those who pay close attention to FCA settlements, the January 22 press release from the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York of a $60 million settlement against Walgreens related to its Prescription Savings Club (“PSC”) program should not come as a complete surprise. In an earlier press release, almost two years ago to the day, the Southern District of New...

11th Circuit / Relators / Statute of Limitations

19 Apr, 2018

In One Decision, The Eleventh Circuit Creates Two Circuit Splits

Rejecting the views of the Fourth and Tenth Circuits, the Eleventh Circuit held the FCA’s three year statute of limitations period in § 3731(b)(2) applies to a relator’s claim even when the United States declines to intervene, and in so doing held it is the knowledge of a government official, not the relator, that triggers the three year limitations period, rejecting the contrary view of...

False Statement / Implied Certification / Relators

31 Jan, 2018

Two Recent Justice Department Memoranda May Have Significant Consequences for Pending and Future False Claims Act Enforcement

In recent weeks, the United States Department of Justice (“DOJ”) issued two memoranda that might change the calculus of False Claims Act (“FCA”) cases.  The memoranda at a minimum provide organizations with new—or at least invigorated—defenses to qui tam actions and civil enforcement matters. First, on January 10, Michael Granston, Director of DOJ’s Civil Frauds section, issued a memorandum encouraging DOJ trial attorneys to consider dismissing...

Procedure / Relators

23 May, 2017

Court Rules that “Upon Information And Belief” Allegations of FCA Violations Leveled Against Competitor Fail to Withstand Pleading Requirements

A Federal court in Ohio recently dismissed a qui tam lawsuit brought under the False Claims Act by Kustom Products, Inc. against Hupp & Associates, Inc., a defense contractor, and in so doing provided judicial treatment of the common practice of alleging facts “upon information and belief.”  United States ex rel. Kustom Prods. v. Hupp & Assocs., No. 2:15-cv-03101, 2017 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 72814 (S.D. Ohio May...

Intervention / Relators / Settlements

14 Mar, 2017

Court Examines Standard for Approval of Settlement of Qui Tam Over a Relator’s Objection

The False Claims Act (FCA) allows plaintiffs/relators to bring qui tam actions, in which the government may then elect to intervene.  The FCA also provides that “[t]he Government may settle a [qui tam] action with the defendant notwithstanding the objections of the person initiating the action if the court determines, after a hearing, that the proposed settlement is fair, adequate, and reasonable under all the...

False Statement / Healthcare / Relators

20 Jan, 2017

Northern District of Illinois Dismisses Whistleblower’s FCA Suit for Failing to Connect Allegations of Misconduct with Submission of False Claims

In United States ex rel. Keen v. Teva Pharmaceuticals USA, Inc., relator Janice Keen sued her former employer—the pharmaceutical company Teva—for violations of the FCA.  According to Ms. Keen, Teva trained its sales force to misleadingly promote and sell a medicine used to treat muscle spasms.  Ms. Keen alleged that Teva’s deceptive practices caused physicians to prescribe the medicine in situations for which it was...

False Statement / Public Disclosure / Relators

30 Sep, 2016

New Orleans Federal Court Dismisses Relators’ Improper Billing Claims against FEMA Temporary Housing Contractor Due to Insufficient Evidence

On September 14, 2016, the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana granted a government contractor’s summary judgment motion and dismissed a lawsuit brought against it by False Claims Act relators (“Relators”) because Relators failed to identify evidence supporting the existence of a genuine issue of material fact regarding their claims that the contractor had improperly billed the Federal Emergency Management Agency...

Relators / Settlements

17 Aug, 2016

Texas Diagnostic Imaging Service Settles FCA Allegations for $3.5 Million; Whistle-Blower to Receive $596,700

A recent settlement illustrates the substantial recovery available to whistle-blowers under the FCA’s qui tam provisions. Those provisions allow a qui tam plaintiff to receive typically between 15 percent and 25 percent of the proceeds of an FCA settlement.  31 U.S.C. § 3730(d). The settling party—Preferred Imaging—is a Dallas-based company that operates independent diagnostic facilities in Texas, Illinois, and Kansas. Preferred Imaging performs procedures involving the administration of contrast...