Category: Federal False Claims Act
On September 18, 2019, the Department of Justice announced a $21.35 million settlement with compounding pharmacy Patient Care America, PCA executives Patrick Smith and Matthew Smith, and, most notably, the pharmacy’s private equity backer, Riordan, Lewis & Haden Inc. The private equity firm and the pharmacy will fund substantially all of the settlement ($21.036 million).
The Third Circuit ruled on September 12, 2019 that a relator
is not automatically guaranteed a hearing when the government moves to dismiss
a whistleblower action – they need to ask for one. In United States ex rel., Chang v.
Children’s Advocacy Center of Delaware,
No.
What Happened
On July 1, 2019, The Treasury Laws Amendment (Enhancing
Whistleblower Protections) Bill 2019 (“Bill 19”) came into effect that amended
the Corporations Act 2001 and Taxation Administration Act 1953 to provide more
protections for whistleblowers in Australia.
The Background
Prior to Bill 19,
On July 16, 2019, a
district court in California found that not all information that is posted on
the internet is considered a public disclosure by the “news media.” United States ex rel. Integra Med Analytics Llc
v. Providence Health & Servs.,
No. CV 17-1694 PSG (SSx),
What Happened
On July 1, 2016, the Dutch Whistleblowers Act (Wet Huis voor klokkenluiders, “Whistleblowers
Act”) came into effect, requiring all employers
in the Netherlands with 50 employees or more to implement internal reporting
procedures and ban retaliatory acts against employees who report wrongdoing.
Member States of the European Union, over the last several years, have passed a series of so-called “Whistleblower Laws.” These laws are being implemented allegedly to bolster anti-corruption efforts throughout Europe. While corruption is no stranger to either side of the Atlantic,
On May 13, 2019, the Supreme Court of the United States, in
a unanimous decision, delivered an important victory for qui tam whistleblowers. United States ex rel. Hunt v. Cochise Consultancy,
Inc., No. 18-315 (decided May 13, 2019) (referred to as “Hunt”).
What Happened
On April 16, 2019, the European
Parliament made history with the approval of the European Union (EU) Whistleblower
Directive (“Directive”) that provides universal whistleblower protections for
all potential “reporting persons” located within member states of the EU. These
protections apply whether or not the reporting person is a citizen of an EU
member.
On
April 3, 2019, in U.S. v. EMD Serono, Inc., CV 16-5594, 2019 WL 1468934 (E.D. Pa. Apr. 3,
2019), District Judge Timothy J. Savage of the
Eastern District of Pennsylvania addressed a matter of first impression within
the Third Circuit: what standard (if any) governs the government’s ability to
dismiss a qui tam case over the objection of relators.
As discussed in a previous posting, the Ontario Securities Commission (OSC) implemented its whistleblowing program in July 2016 and became the first Canadian Province to include a controversial monetary award for whistleblowers. On February 27, 2019, the OSC made history yet again when it announced its first whistleblower award of $7.5 million.
