This post was also written by James C. Martin.
In a decision that has significant repercussions both for the pharmaceutical and health care industries and False Claims Act jurisprudence more broadly, the U.S. Supreme Court denied review of a groundbreaking Fourth Circuit decision affirming the dismissal of a novel False Claims Act suit against Reed Smith client Omnicare, Inc. In its February 2014 decision, the Fourth Circuit rejected the qui tam relator’s claim that Omnicare violated the FCA when it sought reimbursement for drugs that it allegedly packaged in violation of certain federal packaging regulations. The significance of these rulings is especially great as FCA suits proliferate, and settlements and judgments explode. In fiscal year 2012 alone, nearly 800 FCA lawsuits were filed, more than half of which involved the health care industry. And in that same year, according to the U.S. Department of Justice, there were settlements and judgments in FCA cases of nearly $5 billion, more than $3 billion of which involved the health care industry.
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