On June 24, 2019, the Supreme Court ruled that Exemption 4 of the Freedom of Information Act (“FOIA”), which protects from public disclosure “trade secrets and commercial or financial information obtained from a person [that is] privileged or confidential,” does not require a showing of substantial competitive harm for information to qualify as “confidential.” The Court’s ruling represents a sea-change in how the Government must protect information under this important exemption.
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Public Disclosure
OH SNAP! Supreme Court to Take on Meaning of Key FOIA Exemption
By Keith Szeliga on
Posted in Appeals, Public Disclosure
On January 11, 2019, the Supreme Court granted a petition for writ of certiorari over an Eighth Circuit decision involving Exemption 4 of the Freedom of Information Act (“FOIA”), which protects from public disclosure “trade secrets and commercial or financial information obtained from a person and privileged or confidential.” This marks the first time the Supreme Court has agreed to hear a case involving this important exemption.
Continue Reading OH SNAP! Supreme Court to Take on Meaning of Key FOIA Exemption
First Circuit Reaffirms FCA’s “First-to-File” Bar as a Broad Jurisdictional Limit
By Matthew Turetzky on
In early December 2014, the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit reaffirmed that circuit’s broad interpretation of the False Claims Act’s “first-to-file” bar, 31 U.S.C. § 3730(b)(5), in United States ex rel. Ven-a-Care of the Fla. Keys v. Baxter Healthcare Corp., 772 F.3d 932 (1st Cir. 2014).[1] The first-to-file bar, as we have discussed in previous posts, prohibits a second relator from going forward with a False Claims Act (“FCA”) case that is similar to an earlier relator’s case.[2]
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Recent Developments in Cases Dealing with the False Claims Act’s First-to-File and Public Disclosure Bars
By Matthew Turetzky on
This blog post is a preview of a presentation Mr. Turetzky will be giving at the American Bar Association Public Contracts Law Section’s Fall Meeting in Miami, Florida on November 1, 2014.
The False Claims Act, 31 U.S.C. §§ 3729-3733, enables whistleblowers—also known as qui tam relators— to file fraud suits on behalf of the United States against private government contractors. With the assistance of qui tam relators, the United States government has recovered billions of dollars in False Claims Act settlements and judgments. Allowing private persons to litigate on the government’s behalf, however, often encourages parasitic, unmeritorious lawsuits. For this reason, Congress has limited the power of qui tam litigants in a number of ways.Continue Reading Recent Developments in Cases Dealing with the False Claims Act’s First-to-File and Public Disclosure Bars