May 2015

In a long-awaited ruling, the Supreme Court held that the Wartime Suspension Limitations Act (WSLA) does not toll the statute of limitations in civil FCA actions, as the WSLA applies only to criminal actions.  After lying dormant for more than 40 years, the WSLA had threatened to upend the FCA’s limitations period and expose defendants to open-ended and extensive liability for otherwise stale FCA claims.

Amended in 2008, the WSLA provides that the statute of limitations applicable to any offense involving fraud against the United States during a time of war or when Congress has enacted a specific authorization for the use of military force is suspended until five years after the termination of hostilities.  In a number of recent cases, relators had begun relying on the WSLA as a means to avoid dismissal of claims brought outside of the FCA’s limitations period.Continue Reading Supreme Court Limits WSLA to Criminal Offenses

Employee severance packages and settlement agreements often include a broad waiver of any claims, known or an unknown, which an employee may have against the company.  Although such broad pre-filing releases are highly recommended, companies doing business with the government should be cautioned that these waivers do not always protect against False Claims Act (FCA) litigation.  A line of federal cases has established that these so-called “pre-filing releases” are sometimes unenforceable against suits filed by whistleblowers, or qui tam actions, for public policy reasons.
Continue Reading Enforceability of Employee Releases on Qui Tam Actions

Is late package delivery considered an FCA liability for government contractors? Bass, Berry & Sims attorneys analyzed the recent settlement between United Parcel Service Inc.’s (UPS) and the Department of Justice (DOJ) resolving allegations that UPS submitted false claims to the federal government related to the timeliness of package delivery. This case shows the range…

Matt Curley, John Kelly and Shuchi Parikh authored an article outlining the dangers of data misreporting for Medicare Advantage organizations and Medicare prescription drug plans. The article identifies areas of potential liability to help organizations avoid enforcement activity related to fraud and abuse allegations.

The article, “Data Misreporting Risks for Medicare Advantage and Prescription Drug…

The U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida issued yet another opinion endorsing the use of statistical sampling in FCA cases. In its April 28, 2015 opinion in United States ex rel. Ruckh v. Genoa Healthcare, LLC., the district court held that the relator could use expert testimony of statistical sampling to establish FCA violations concerning claims submitted by defendants’ skilled nursing facilities.

The relator alleged that the defendants violated the FCA by falsifying reports summarizing patients’ medical conditions and the treatment provided to those patients. Relator further alleged fraud by the defendants who allegedly allowed unauthorized individuals to submit reports to CMS. After the defendants’ motions to dismiss the complaint were denied, the relator moved to admit expert testimony on statistical sampling due to the “voluminous discovery” and the impossibility of “producing and processing the relevant medical records at the fifty-three medical facilities and some fifty-three off-site storage locations within a reasonable time.” DOJ, which did not intervene in the case, filed a statement of interest in support of statistical sampling.Continue Reading Another District Court Endorses Statistical Sampling

From the Bass, Berry & Sims Blog Network
From the Bass, Berry & Sims Blog Network

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