On January 25, in a 2-1 decision in U.S. ex rel. Sheldon v. Allergan Sales, LLC, 2022 WL 211172, the Fourth Circuit became the most recent federal appellate court to hold that the objective scienter standard in the Supreme Court’s Safeco decision applies to the False Claims Act (FCA). Under the Fourth Circuit’s decision, the FCA’s scienter element cannot be met if the defendant’s interpretation of applicable statutory or regulatory requirements was objectively reasonable and no authoritative guidance from a circuit court or government agency warned the defendant away from its interpretation.
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4th Circuit
Qui Tam Complaint Against Pharmacy Dismissed for Lack of Particularity
On May 6, the U.S. District Court for the District of South Carolina entered final judgment dismissing with prejudice a relator’s qui tam False Claims Act (FCA) suit against the defendant wholesale pharmacy. The relator, a former pharmacist who worked for the defendant, alleged that the defendant submitted false claims to government healthcare programs in connection with prescription medications dispensed for use at nursing homes and assisted living facilities. The relator alleged a scheme in which the defendant manually filled “thousands” of prescriptions with less-expensive generic medications while billing for more-expensive alternative medications stocked in its automated dispensing system.
A qui tam complaint containing similar allegations filed against Omnicare Inc. in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey resulted in an $8 million settlement in 2017. In this lawsuit, however, the defendant, represented by Bass, Berry & Sims and others, obtained full dismissal with prejudice of the relator’s FCA and retaliation claims.Continue Reading Qui Tam Complaint Against Pharmacy Dismissed for Lack of Particularity
Fourth Circuit Weighs in on Standards for Pleading Presentment and Retaliation
On December 26, 2018, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit issued an opinion in United States ex rel. Grant v. United Airlines affirming dismissal of the relator’s False Claims Act (FCA) allegations on the grounds that the complaint failed to plead presentment of a false claim with sufficient particularity under Rule 9(b). In the same opinion, however, the court revived the relator’s retaliation claim on the grounds that the relator satisfied the lower standard of Rule 8(a) applicable to retaliation claims, which are not claims of fraud.
Presentment Must Follow from Conduct Alleged in Complaint
The court affirmed dismissal of the relator’s substantive FCA claims because it held that the relator failed to adequately plead presentment under Rule 9(b) in either of the two ways that the Fourth Circuit has recognized as acceptable:
- By alleging with particularity that specific false claims actually were presented to the government for payment, including by describing the time, place, and contents of the false representation; the person making the false representation; and what was obtained by making this representation
- By alleging a pattern of conduct that would “necessarily have led to a false claim being submitted”
The court focused its analysis on whether the complaint was adequately pleaded under the latter of those two options. The relator was a former maintenance technician of United Airlines who was a second-tier subcontractor on a government contract for the repair and maintenance of military aircraft. His complaint alleged that United Airlines was specifically subcontracted to repair, overhaul and inspect certain airplane engines and was required to do its work in compliance with certain regulations. The complaint alleged that United Airlines violated the FCA by failing to comply with the required regulations in completing work on these airplane engines.
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FCA Deeper Dive: Judicial Review of Settlements
The FCA continues to be the federal government’s primary civil enforcement tool for investigating allegations that healthcare providers or government contractors defrauded the federal government. In the coming weeks, we continue to take a closer look at recent legal developments involving the FCA. This week, we examine judicial review of FCA settlements and recent cases considering this issue.
In U.S. ex rel. Michaels v. Agape Senior Cmty., Inc., the Fourth Circuit considered the scope of DOJ’s authority to review and ultimately veto a settlement reached by relators and the defendants. The panel had little difficulty affirming the district court’s determination that DOJ’s veto authority in this regard is unreviewable.Continue Reading FCA Deeper Dive: Judicial Review of Settlements
Fourth Circuit Re-Affirms Sufficiency of Triple Canopy Complaint
U.S. ex rel. Badr v. Triple Canopy, Inc., an intervened case arising out of the Fourth Circuit, has been one of the more closely-watched recent FCA cases. Previously, the Fourth Circuit held that the government’s complaint properly alleged an FCA claim and could survive Triple Canopy’s motion to dismiss. That ruling was subsequently vacated by the Supreme Court following its decision in Universal Health Services, Inc. v. U.S. ex rel. Escobar, which we covered here and here. On May 16, 2017, the Fourth Circuit issued its opinion on remand, finding that the complaint satisfied the pleading standards set forth in Escobar and re-affirming its conclusion that the complaint adequately stated an FCA claim.
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Fourth Circuit Takes a Pass on Statistical Sampling, Finds DOJ’s Settlement Veto Authority Unreviewable
After granting the relators’ petition for an interlocutory review of the district court’s rejection of the use of statistical sampling to establish FCA liability, the Fourth Circuit ultimately declined to reach that issue in its opinion recently issued in U.S. ex rel. Michaels v. Agape Senior Community, Inc. This conclusion comes as no surprise based on the comments and questions posed by the panel during the course of oral argument, as we covered here.
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Matt Curley Analyzes Oral Arguments in Fourth Circuit Agape Case
In an article for Law360, Bass, Berry & Sims attorney Matt Curley provided an analysis of the oral arguments in U.S. ex rel. Michaels v. Agape Senior Community Inc., the Fourth Circuit case closely watched by False Claims Act practitioners. The Fourth Circuit agreed to consider an interlocutory appeal of the district court’s rulings…
Fourth Circuit Interprets Meaning of “Protected Activity” Under 2010 FCA Whistleblower Amendments
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit recently affirmed dismissal of an FCA complaint for failure to state a claim under the FCA’s anti-retaliation provision, 31 U.S.C. § 3730(h). In U.S. ex rel. Carlson v. Dyncorp Int’l, LLC, the Fourth Circuit held that the relator failed to establish that he had engaged in protected activity, a required element for a prima facie retaliation case under the FCA. In reaching that conclusion, the Fourth Circuit provided useful guidance on the standards used to assess whether a relator engaged in protected activity.
Continue Reading Fourth Circuit Interprets Meaning of “Protected Activity” Under 2010 FCA Whistleblower Amendments
FCA Issues to Watch: Appellate Consideration of Statistical Sampling
There are a number of key issues that will drive the government’s enforcement efforts in the coming year and that will have a significant impact on how healthcare fraud matters are pursued by relators asserting FCA claims and are defended on behalf of healthcare providers. In the previous weeks, we have examined these issues in greater depth and why healthcare providers should keep a close eye on these issues. This week, we examine the Fourth Circuit’s upcoming appellate consideration of the use of statistical sampling to establish falsity under the FCA.
In 2014, the district court’s opinion in U.S. ex rel. Martin v. Life Care Centers of America rejected a motion to exclude the government’s expert testimony regarding the intended use of statistical sampling to establish liability over an extrapolated universe of claims. Since that time, a number of other district courts have considered the issue of whether such evidence may be used to establish liability by either the government or relators. See U.S. ex rel. Paradies v. Aseracare, Inc., 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 167970 (N.D. Ala. Dec. 4, 2014) (denying motion for summary judgment and noting that “[t]he Government has statistical evidence regarding all of the Government’s universe of 2,181 claims. Statistical evidence is evidence.”); U.S. ex rel. Guardiola v. Renown Health, 2015 WL 5123375 (D. Nev. Sept. 1, 2015) (issuing discovery ruling regarding the underlying data universe relevant to relator’s use of statistical sampling); U.S. ex rel. Ruckh v. Genoa Healthcare, LLC, 2015 WL 1926417 (M.D. Fla. Apr. 28, 2015) (granting relator’s motion to admit expert testimony based on statistical sampling that had not been undertaken by relator as of the date of the motion).Continue Reading FCA Issues to Watch: Appellate Consideration of Statistical Sampling
FCA Deeper Dive: When Public Disclosures Bar FCA Claims
The FCA continues to be the federal government’s primary civil enforcement tool for investigating allegations that healthcare providers or government contractors defrauded the federal government. In the coming weeks, we will take a closer look at recent legal developments involving the FCA. This week, we examine the FCA’s public disclosure bar and recent cases considering whether disclosures are sufficient to bar FCA claims.
The FCA’s public disclosure bar prevents a relator from filing a qui tam complaint based on information previously disclosed to the public, thereby dissuading parasitic lawsuits based on publicly available information. In cases considering the scope of the public disclosure bar, courts have continued to examine the issue of how or to whom information must be disseminated in order to constitute a “public disclosure,” which often has resulted in a narrowing of the public disclosure bar’s scope in a given case. Such cases marked a shift away from decisions favorable to FCA defendants toward a more nuanced and specific application of the public disclosure bar.Continue Reading FCA Deeper Dive: When Public Disclosures Bar FCA Claims