This month, The Third Circuit, became the latest appeals court to reject a stricter pleading standard typically applied by four circuits when interpreting Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 9(b), which states that fraud suits must describe misconduct “with particularity,” demanding that complaints include samples of actual false claims. In a unanimous decision,
Under the Lanham Act, one can bring a suit claiming that the defendant has engaged in unfair competition by using misleading advertising or labeling. The Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act (“FDCA”) prohibits, among other things, the misbranding of food and drink. Under the FDCA, the United States is generally the only one who can initiate an action against someone who has used false or misleading labeling.
Education Management Corp.’s efforts to dismiss two whistleblowers from a multibillion-dollar lawsuit were turned down by a federal judge on Wednesday, June 18th. EDMC argued that the whistleblowers only initiated accusations due to reading articles about concerns regarding for-profit colleges and that wouldn’t entitle someone to whistleblower status.
The two whistleblowers,
In the first-of-its-kind enforcement action, The Securities and Exchange Commission accused a hedge fund adviser, Paradigm Capital Management, Inc. and its owner Candace King Weir, of squashing a top trader after learning that he reported trade violations at the firm.
Paradigm had failed to meet their obligations to obtain client’s consent prior to conducting trades.
Under the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, a plaintiff who claims that a defendant engaged in fraudulent conduct must allege facts in his or her complaint demonstrating that a fraud took place. A split has developed among the circuits regarding how this requirement applies to one who is bringing a claim under the False Claims Act.
In a qui tam suit brought against Allergan, the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Philadelphia argued that the Anti-Kickback Statute should be interpreted more broadly to bar payment in exchange for health care services paid for by the Government. The government made this argument in a Statement of Interest filed in the non-intervened case of U.S.
On June 3rd, the Securities and Exchange Commission awarded more than $875,000, to be split evenly, to two whistleblowers that provided high-quality tips and assistance resulting in an enforcement action in a complex area of the securities market.
The Dodd-Frank Act authorized the SEC’s whistleblower program which awards 10 to 30 percent of the money collected in cases resulting in sanctions exceeding $1 million.
Medtronic, Inc., a Fridley, Minnesota company, is alleged to have used various types of payments as incentives to physicians for implantation of pacemakers and defibrillators. Under the False Claims Act, the company agreed to pay 9.9 million dollars to resolve these allegations.
Medtronic induced the physicians to implant these devices by: paying the physicians for speaking engagements to increase the flow of referrals;
The Justice Department announced that Ashland Hospital Corp. d/b/a King’s Daughters Medical Center (KDMC) has agreed to pay nearly $41 million for needless medical procedures, between 2006 and 2011, including coronary stents and diagnostic catherizations that were submitted falsely to the Kentucky Medicaid and federal Medicare programs. It is also alleged that the hospital had a prohibited financial relationship with physician to refer patients to the hospital.
A United States Magistrate Judge in the Middle District of Florida has recommended that Halifax Hospital Medical Center (“Halifax”) be sanctioned for “reprehensible” discovery abuses. According to the Report and Recommendation, despite having instituted a litigation hold, Halifax destroyed three years of short stay medical records that were relevant to the case,
If you are aware of any person, corporation or entity that you think may be violating the Federal False Claims Act or a State False Claims Act, contact us today.