The relator’s allegations did not survive scrutiny for required particularity even under a relaxed standard requiring examples and indicia supporting an inference of false claims.
A qui tam relator could not proceed with claims that various entities involved with kidney transplants violated the False Claims Act (FCA), held the federal district court in San Antonio, Texas, in granting a motion to dismiss. The court reasoned that the relator’s allegations amounted to group pleading, were too generalized, and did not satisfy a relaxed standard of particularity because they did not include examples of false or inflated billing to federal health care programs with indicia that would support an inference of FCA violations. The relator’s theories of FCA liability, variously based on procurement of non-viable kidneys, cost report inflation, statistical inflation, failure to attempt to recover every possible organ, and receiving unlawful kickbacks, all failed even under the relaxed standard. The relator did not allege anything about reverse false claims. The court declined to exercise supplemental jurisdiction over state law claims. The court dismissed all claims or theories of liability against the transplant alliance and denied further amendment (U.S. ex rel. Chase v. Parkland Health and Hosp. Sys., No. 5:23-cv-00381-JKP (W.D. Tex. Jan. 6, 2026)).
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