On September 30, 2024, Judge Mizelle, a federal judge in the Middle District of Florida, ruled that the False Claims Act’s (“FCA”) qui tam enforcement provision is unconstitutional, a ruling that, if followed by other courts, could have significant impact on FCA enforcement by relators in pending and future non-intervened cases. The court concluded that under the FCA, relators—private parties that bring suits on behalf of the government—operate as “Officers” of the executive branch of the United States who must be properly appointed pursuant to Article II of the U.S. Constitution. United States ex rel. Zafirov v. Florida Medical Associates, LLC, Case No. 8:19-cv-01236, 2024 WL 4349242 (M.D. Fla. Sept. 30, 2024) (Mizelle, J.)

Background of Zafirov Case

The case was brought by relator Clarissa Zafirov against certain medical providers, claiming the providers had submitted false claims by misrepresenting patients’ medical conditions to Medicare. The government declined to intervene in the case, leaving Zafirov to litigate the case herself pursuant to the FCA’s qui tam provision and continue to seek a percentage of any potential recovery. After years of motion practice and discovery, the defendant providers filed a motion for summary judgment on the pleadings raising several constitutional challenges to the FCA’s qui tam provision.

The Court’s Holding that the Qui Tam Provision is Unconstitutional

In finding that an FCA relator is an “Officer” under Article II, the court...

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