The February 2014 decision (discussed in an earlier blog post) in which the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit dismissed the False Claims Act (FCA) charges brought in United States ex rel. Rostholder v. Omnicare, Inc. was confirmed on October 6, 2014, when the U.S. Supreme Court declined to review the Rostholder decision. The case – in which Omnicare had been represented by Reed Smith – involved alleged violations of the FCA stemming from reimbursement claims for drugs that were purportedly improperly packaged according to federal guidelines. The Fourth Circuit ruled that approval of a drug is sufficient for reimbursement qualification and, as a result, reimbursement claims for approved drugs cannot be considered “false” under the FCA solely for being “processed in violation of FDA safety regulations.”
To read the Reed Smith client alert about the Supreme Court’s dismissal, click here.