On September 1, 2026, the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit issued a long-awaited decision in United States ex rel. Zafirov v. Florida Medical Associates, LLC, No. 24-13581, holding that the False Claims Act’s (FCA) qui tam provisions do not violate the Appointments Clause of the US Constitution. The court of appeals vacated the district court’s order dismissing the case and remanded it for the district court to evaluate the defendants’ remaining constitutional arguments under the Take Care Clause and the Vesting Clause.
The appellate decision vacated the district court’s 2024 ruling from the Middle District of Florida striking that qui tam relators were “officers of the United States” who must be presidentially appointed under the Constitution’s Appointments Clause. The Eleventh Circuit now joins the Fifth, Sixth, Ninth, and Tenth Circuits in holding that qui tam provisions are constitutional under the Appointments Clause.1
The decision comes at a pivotal moment for FCA enforcement. The Department of Justice (DOJ) is actively encouraging whistleblowers and relators to come forward across a widening range of enforcement areas—from healthcare fraud to trade fraud, customs violations, cybersecurity compliance, and even challenges to diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs and policies. As discussed in our prior Legal Update, FCA recoveries hit a record-breaking $6.8 billion in 2025, and qui tam filings reached an all-time high of nearly 1,300...
Nana, a former member of the group After School, announced the progress of the investigation into the home invasion robbery and resented that the perpetrator continued to make false claims without ...