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On March 10, 2014, just days before trial, Halifax Hospital Medical Center and Halifax Staffing, Inc. (collectively “Halifax”) entered into an $85 million settlement with the U.S. Department of Justice resolving allegations that they violated the False Claims Act (“FCA”) by submitting Medicare claims that violated the Stark law.  See Notice of Settlement and Settlement filed in U.S. ex rel. Baklid-Kunz v. Halifax Hospital Medical Center, Civ. Act. No. 6:09-CV-1002 (M.D. Fla.)  The settlement effectively ended a qui tam action that had been filed by an insider in June 2009.  The Government had intervened based on employment agreements with six medical oncologists that compensated the physicians based on the operating margin of Halifax’s medical oncology program.  The compensation arrangement, referred to as an “Incentive Bonus,” covered a four-year period—from 2005-2008.  There are a few lessons to be learned from this case.
Continue Reading How Are Your Physicians Compensated? Stark Law + False Claims Act = Halifax Paying $85 Million

The DOJ has released its Fiscal Year (“FY”) 2013 totals for civil settlements and judgments recovered under the federal False Claims Act (“FCA”).  To say that the Department had a successful year in prosecuting fraud against the government would be putting it mildly.  According to the DOJ release, the government recovered $3.8 billion under the FCA in FY 2013.  That total is second only to the approximately $5 billion recovered under the FCA in FY 2012; and it marks the fourth time in as many years that the government’s recoveries under the Act exceeded $3 billion.
Continue Reading False Claims Act Whistleblower Bounties Exceed $345 Million in Fiscal Year 2013

In a recent False Claims Act (“FCA”) opinion that has already been heavily criticized, the Fourth Circuit held that a $24 million penalty was not “excessive” under the Constitution even where damages were not proven at trial and where the government had paid only a total of $3.3 million for the services in question.  United States ex rel. Bunk v. Gosselin World Wide Moving, N.V., No. 12-1369 (4th Cir. Dec. 18, 2013).
Continue Reading Fourth Circuit Finds $24 Million False Claims Act Penalty Not Excessive Even Where No Damages Proven at Trial

The First Circuit has added its say on the meaning of the False Claims Act’s “first to file” rule (31 U.S.C. § 3730(b)(5)) by holding that a first-filed complaint will preclude a later-filed suit, even when the first complaint is found insufficient under Rule 9(b) particularity requirements. See United States ex rel. Heineman-Guta v. Guidant Corp., 2013 WL 2364172 (1st Cir. May 31, 2013). There is already a circuit split on this issue between the Sixth Circuit and the D.C. Circuit, and the First Circuit’s recent decision further deepens this split. Time will tell if the U.S. Supreme Court will ultimately weigh in on the issue.
Continue Reading An FCA Kerfuffle: First Circuit Reaffirms the Intent of the “First to File” Rule and Deepens Circuit Split

By Christopher Loveland and Jonathan Aronie 

While multi-million dollar False Claims Act (FCA) settlements paid by Government contractors get the lion’s share of the press, those with an attentive eye will have noticed a recent steady stream of more “contractor friendly” FCA decisions flying just under the national press’s radar. These cases, all arising in the context of the GSA Multiple Award Schedule program, serve as timely reminders that the FCA is not a blank check for opportunistic relators (plaintiffs/whistleblowers), and that relators must be in possession of facts actually supporting their allegations before walking into court. [1]Continue Reading Common Sense Prevails Once Again: District Court FCA Ruling Serves As Reminder That Whistleblowers Need to Prove Recklessness Too