For decades, the Department of Justice’s government fraud enforcement efforts have been largely driven by whistleblower lawsuits filed under the False Claims Act. The statute’s qui tam provision encourages whistleblowers to file suit on behalf of the government and gives the government the opportunity to decide whether to take control of the case or allow the whistleblower to proceed. On Tuesday, the justices will consider the scope and timing of those options in U.S. ex rel. Polansky v. Executive Health Resources, and determine whether and when the government has authority to dismiss a False Claims Act suit after initially declining to take over the case.
Despite decades of partnership between government attorneys and whistleblower attorneys, the case pits the two groups against one another and represents the culmination of a simmering feud over their balance of power in qui tams (an abbreviation for a Latin phrase meaning “Who sues on behalf of the King as well as for himself.”) Both the government and attorneys representing whistleblowers contend that a ruling for the other will damage the tremendously successful qui tam system. The case represents a rare alliance between the Department of Justice and potential fraud defendants, who warn that limiting the government’s authority will lead to whistleblowers proceeding with meritless lawsuits and burdening both government and defendant resources.
DOJ has used the False Claims Act to recover more than $70 billion since...
A Huntington Park-based medical practice and its physician have agreed to pay more than $6.73 million to resolve allegations that they violated the False Claims Act by submitting false claims for ...