During oral argument in two consolidated cases on Tuesday, the court seemed poised to reverse the decision of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit and reject a ruling observers said would gut the government’s primary anti-fraud statute. It remains unclear, however, whether the court will issue an opinion addressing more complex questions that have the potential to dramatically shift the balance of power between the government and industry in False Claims Act cases.
The Department of Justice has used the FCA to recover more than $70 billion since 1986, largely in cases related to health care and defense contracting. Under the FCA, a defendant is liable for submitting a false claim to the government for payment if it acted “knowingly,” which the statute defines as acting with actual knowledge, deliberate ignorance, or reckless disregard. At issue on Tuesday in two consolidated cases – U.S. ex rel. Schutte v. SuperValu Inc. and U.S. ex rel. Proctor v. Safeway – was whether and when a defendant’s subjective belief is relevant in determining knowledge if its conduct represented an objectively reasonable interpretation of the relevant issue. Split panels of the 7th Circuit had held it was never relevant – a view soundly rejected Tuesday by at least a majority of the justices.
The question remains, however, whether the court will go further to address more nuanced issues. The justices and the litigants devoted substantial time discussing when a party’s decision to adopt...
People only use about 10% of their brain. It’s a fact we’ve all heard—except it isn’t a fact at all. It’s a myth. While activity in some brain regions fluctuates depending on what you’re doing, you...