A sign marks Allergan's offices in Medford, Massachusetts, U.S., July 31, 2017. REUTERS/Brian Snyder

• Whistleblowers must show reckless disregard for the truth
• Divided court upheld dismissal of claims over Forest Labs price data
• Ruling squares with five other appeals courts

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(Reuters) - A U.S. appeals court on Tuesday became the latest to make it more difficult for whistleblowers to prove that companies knowingly made false claims to the government, a crucial hurdle to winning their lawsuits.

The 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in a 2-1 decision said a former sales manager at Allergan LLC subsidiary Forest Laboratories LLC could not show that the drugmaker willfully reported inaccurate price data to Medicaid, because the program's rules are complex and open to different interpretations.

Allergan and its lawyers did not immediately respond to requests for comment, nor did lawyers who represent the estate of whistleblower Troy Sheldon, who died in 2017.

The Biden administration backed the plaintiff in a 2021 brief, arguing that companies can be liable for submitting false claims to the government even when they stem from a misreading of an ambiguous law.

But the 4th Circuit said a higher bar the U.S....

Read Full Story: https://www.reuters.com/legal/transactional/whistleblowers-face-high-bar-show...