Last week, EDNY Chief Judge Margo Brodie certified a False Claims Act (FCA) appeal to the Second Circuit. In United States ex rel. Quartararo v. Catholic Health System of Long Island Inc., the district court found that defendants met the requirements for an interlocutory appeal of the denial of their motion to dismiss FCA misappropriation claims based on violations of a criminal statute governing conversion of benefits or payments under a Federal health care…
Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corp. agreed earlier this month to pay $678 million to settle an SDNY False Claims Act case. The SDNY alleged that Novartis violated the False Claims Act and the Anti-Kickback Statute by giving doctors cash payments, exorbitant speaker fees, and expensive dinners to induce them to prescribe Novartis cardiovascular and diabetes drugs. The government alleged that for a ten-year period, between 2002 and 2011, Novartis hosted tens of thousands of speaker programs and…
Compound prescription drugs have increasingly become a target for DOJ health fraud enforcement activities. In early April, the SDNY U.S. Attorney’s Office entered into a civil settlement with two pharmacies and two individuals for submitting fraudulent claims for reimbursement for compounded prescription drugs in violation of the False Claims Act and the Anti-Kickback Statute.
Compounding pharmacies prepare prescription drugs in unique formulations, generally for a specific patient. Compounded drugs are viewed as presenting a significant opportunity…
The corona virus pandemic has presented new opportunities for fraud, particularly against the elderly and vulnerable, and these fraudulent schemes are often carried out through robocalls.
The EDNY U.S. Attorney’s Office recently obtained civil injunctions against defendants alleged to be facilitating massive volumes of fraudulent robocalls to consumers, through a preliminary injunction decision issued by EDNY District Judge Eric Komitee and consent decrees issued by EDNY District Judge Brian Cogan.
The EDNY filed two civil…
Last week, in Washington v. Barr, the Second Circuit addressed a case seeking to strike down the federal government’s classification of marijuana as a Schedule I drug under the Controlled Substances Act (CSA). The Court held that plaintiffs had failed to exhaust their administrative remedies before the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). Rather than dismissing the case, however, the Court took the unusual step of holding the case in abeyance and retaining jurisdiction to take…
The Supreme Court today unanimously decided that a relator may take advantage of the longer ten-year statute of limitations under the False Claims Act in a case in which the United States has declined to intervene, as long as the action is brought within three years of Government knowledge of the alleged fraud. Cochise Consultancy, Inc. v. United States ex rel. Hunt.
The Timing of the Alleged Fraud, Disclosure to the Government, and the…
Earlier this week, the Department of Justice Civil Division announced guidelines for factors to consider and credit to be given in False Claims Act investigations and prosecutions. The guidelines broadly stressed three forms of conduct that may merit credit, including voluntary self-disclosure of misconduct, meaningful cooperation with an FCA investigation, and implementation of adequate and effective compliance and remedial measures. The policy is set out in Justice Manual Section 4-4.112.
Disclosure, Cooperation, and Remedial Action…
The replacement of stairways at the Middletown Road Subway Station in the Bronx triggered accessibility requirements that may include installing elevators, according to a recent decision from SDNY District Judge Edgardo Ramos. In Bronx Independent Living Services v. Metropolitan Transportation Authority, Judge Ramos held that the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) and NYC Transportation Authority (NYCTA) are required under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) to provide access individuals with disabilities, including those who use wheelchairs, regardless…
The Second Circuit examined the False Claims Act’s “alternate remedy” provision for the first time yesterday, holding that a fugitive who had dismissed his qui tam action was not entitled to a share of a $25.6 million FCA settlement. In United States v. L-3 Communications EOTech, Inc., the Second Circuit held that relator Milton DaSilva’s government coercion claim failed and that he could not share in the government’s recovery from L-3 Communications EOTech because he…
The Eastern District of New York filed a Safe Drinking Water Act complaint this week against the City of New York and the NYC Department of Environmental Protection, seeking to require the City to cover the Hillview Reservoir in Yonkers, part of the City’s public water system. At the same time, the EDNY also lodged a proposed Consent Decree and Judgment with the Court that would require the City to address the cover and upgrades…