The federal government can move to dismiss any False Claim suit, even over the objection of whistleblowers who stand to gain financially from ongoing litigation, the Supreme Court ruled Friday morning.
Experts have previously told McKnight’s Long-Term Care News that a decision allowing the government more rights to dismiss would likely reduce the number of meritless cases skilled nursing and other healthcare providers face.
In United States, ex rel. Polansky v. Executive Health Resources, the Court had to decide whether government attorneys can seek the dismissal of cases in which they don’t see enough merit to get involved, and what standards should be adopted to allow those dismissals.
The court ruled 8-1 that states may move to dismiss such qui tam actions whenever they have intervened — whether that be in an early period when the case is sealed or later as new details emerge or the government finds the case baseless.
The decision is an important one for nursing homes, whose owners are often targeted in high-dollar suits in which “relators,” or private individuals, attempt to bring a case on the government’s behalf, alleging misuse of federal dollars. Relators stand to collect triple the amount of financial damage alleged. The number of False Claims allegations has exploded since Congress established their right to sue in 1986.
Though most claims are deemed meritless by the government, which can either decide to help a relator with a...
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