EDNY Judge Brian Cogan recently addressed the False Claims Act public disclosure bar and original source rule in a decision based on a qui tam Relator’s claims that defendants marketed a test to measure the levels of a certain hormone knowing that the test was flawed. In United States ex rel. Patriarca v. Siemens Healthcare Diagnostics, Inc., Relator alleged
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EDNY Decision Shows Breadth of Fraud Restitution Recoverable By Hospital For Mold-Contaminated Intravenous Bags
A hospital victimized by the sale of adulterated and mislabeled drug products successful obtained a Court order imposing restitution of over $825,000 earlier this month. EDNY Judge I. Leo Glasser’s decision in United States v. Tighe provides a helpful summary of restitution standards, and applies them to the response efforts of Yale-New Haven Hospital (“YNHH”) to protect patients from potential
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DOJ Memoranda Encourage Dismissal of Declined False Claims Act Cases and Prohibit Government Reliance on Noncompliance with Agency Guidance Theory of Liability
The Department of Justice issued two memoranda at the start of 2018 that may have important effects on health care fraud investigations and prosecutions under the False Claims Act.
The first, Factors for Evaluating Dismissal Pursuant to 31 U.S.C. 3730(c)(2)(A), was issued by Michael Granston, Director of the DOJ Commercial Litigation Branch, Fraud Section, and encourages DOJ attorneys to
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Angry Text Message Recipient Loses Court Challenge On Flu Shot Reminder
It’s flu season again. Your PCP at WPMG is thinking of you!
So began the health care provider’s text message that prompted this month’s Second Circuit decision applying the Telephone Consumer Protection Act to a flu shot reminder, Latner v. Mount Sinai Health System, Inc.
Plaintiff had gone to defendant West Park Medical Group (WPMG) in 2003 for a
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Second Circuit Vacates Conviction of Pharmaceutical Distributor on Advice-of-Counsel Defense
Last week, in United States v. Scully, the Second Circuit vacated the conviction of a distributor of pharmaceutical products on misbranding charges due to evidentiary issues surrounding his advice-of-counsel defense at trial.
The Rise and Fall of Pharmalogical
William Scully and Rodi Lameh founded Pharmalogical, Inc,, planning to acquire pharmaceutical products from manufacturers and sell them to doctors, hospitals
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Medicaid Fraud Whistleblower Loses Bid To Keep His Name Out Of The Public Eye
False Claims Act whistleblowers expose themselves to significant risks by coming forward and asserting claims of fraud against the government. Often, the whistleblowers, called relators under the False Claims Act, would prefer to maintain their anonymity for personal or professional reasons, but their options to do so are limited.
A False Claims Act case is initially filed under seal, and
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Pharmacy Chain Not Required To Reasonably Accommodate Needle-Phobic Pharmacist
Trypanophobia—the fear of needles—played a significant role in a case brought against Rite Aid Pharmacy under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). In Stevens v. Rite Aid Corp., the Second Circuit overturned a jury verdict awarding substantial damages to a Rite Aid pharmacist who was terminated after he said he could not perform immunization injections because of a needle
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Second Circuit Accepts Appeal of False Claims Act First-To-File Issues
The Second Circuit recently agreed to accept an interlocutory appeal to decide the question whether a violation of the False Claims Act’s “first-to-file” rule compels dismissal of the complaint or whether it can be cured by the filing of an amended pleading.
In United States ex rel. Wood v. Allergan, Inc., Relator John Wood brought FCA claims against Allergan,
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Second Circuit Sets False Claims Act Pleading Standard For Claim Information
Last week, the Second Circuit held that a False Claims Act relator does not have to plead details of specific alleged false billings or invoices to the government, as long as he can allege facts leading to a strong inference that specific claims were submitted and that information about them are peculiarly within the defendant’s knowledge.
In United States ex
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Supreme Court Limitation on Forfeiture Will Impact Health Care Fraud Prosecutions
Health care fraud prosecutions in the Second Circuit and throughout the country have typically sought forfeiture money judgments against all defendants for the proceeds of the fraud obtained by all members of a health care fraud conspiracy. The Supreme Court recently curtailed these efforts in Honeycutt v. United States. In Honeycutt, the Court held that the forfeiture statute
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