FCA NOW

First Circuit Takes “Broad View” of Falsity for Pleading Purposes

In a break with other Circuits, the First Circuit recently reaffirmed its broad definition of a “false statement’ under the False Claims Act.  United States ex rel. Escobar v. Universal Health Services, Inc., No. 14-1423 (1st Cir. Mar. 17, 2015).  Notably, the court continues to take a “broad view of what may constitute a false or fraudulent statement to avoid ‘foreclosing FCA liability in situations...

Fourth Circuit Clarifies Meaning of False Claims Act’s “Public Disclosure” Bar

In an important decision regarding the False Claims Act’s much-litigated “public disclosure” bar, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit recently concluded that the disclosure of reports and audits to government officials, without further distribution to the public or dissemination in the “public domain,” does not implicate the FCA’s “public disclosure” provision.  See United States ex rel. Wilson v. Graham Cnty. Soil...