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
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
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
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
Sixth Amendment Prevents Pretrial Restraint on Health Care Defendant’s Use of Untainted Funds To Pay Counsel
The Supreme Court held last week that in a federal health care fraud prosecution, the Sixth Amendment prevents the government from obtaining a pretrial freeze of assets that were untainted by the alleged crime and that defendant sought to use to pay her lawyer.
In Luis v. United States, the government alleged that the
EDNY Judge Refuses To Unseal Grand Jury Minutes In Health Care Identity Theft Prosecution
Earlier this month, EDNY Judge Joanna Seybert examined the elements of Aggravated Identify Theft in an interesting context: a motion to unseal grand jury minutes in a health care fraud prosecution, United States v. Cwibeker.
Defendants were charged with billing Medicare for fictitious or non-compensable treatments of residents of assisted living facilities. Defendants would
Second Circuit Rejects Constitutional Challenge To New York School Vaccination Requirement
The Second Circuit yesterday rejected a Constitutional challenge to New York’s requirement that children be vaccinated to attend public school, and upheld a school’s decision to exclude from class, during a chicken pox outbreak, students with a religious exemption to the vaccination requirement.
In Phillips v. City of New York, two Catholic parents received
Visiting Nurse Service Settles Some SDNY False Claims Act Allegations, Leaves Others Open As Part Of A “Remaining Investigation”
An interesting SDNY settlement agreement resolves some False Claims Act allegations, but leaves others for another day. Visiting Nurse Service of New York (VNS) paid just under $35 million to the United States and New York State to settle allegations that VNS improperly billed Medicaid for 1,740 members whose needs did not qualify for a
Columbia Pays $9 Million In False Claims Act Case For Mischarging Federal Grant Money
Columbia University agreed to pay $9 million this week in settlement of a SDNY False Claims Act case alleging that it had submitted false claims in connection with federal grants funding AIDS and HIV related work. Columbia was the grant administrator on behalf of ICAP, an entity that received millions of dollars in federal grants
DOJ Criminal Chief Caldwell Outlines New Joint Criminal-Civil Qui Tam Process
Leslie Caldwell, DOJ Assistant Attorney General for the Criminal Division, spoke to the qui tam relators’ bar at a Taxpayers Against Fraud conference last month, stating a new DOJ policy for criminal and civil division coordination of qui tam cases, starting with intake.
Taxpayers Against Fraud is an organization of whistleblowers and their counsel, which