Recent Publications

False Claims Act: New Rules for Pleading?

In a case that will undoubtedly be embraced by relators, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit recently allowed a lawsuit brought under the False Claims Act (“FCA”) to proceed even though the relator did not know certain details about the invoices he alleged were fraudulently submitted to the government. In United States ex rel. Grubbs v. Kanneganti, the Fifth Circuit reversed a district court’s decision to dismiss an FCA claim for failure to allege fraud in sufficient detail. Although relators will argue that the decision opens the door for many more FCA lawsuits to survive early dismissal, the decision does not signal—as relators hope—that courts are abandoning heightened scrutiny. >>




False Claims Act/Qui Tam

We have extensive experience defending clients in qui tam and False Claims Act investigations and lawsuits. Our clients are companies and executives in a wide variety of industries, including large health care companies, educational institutions, and major defense and government contractors.

Our lawyers include several former Department of Justice trial attorneys as well as long-time defense practitioners who understand the unique aspects of False Claims Act litigation. Because False Claims Act and private qui tam actions often arise amid multiple government investigations, we coordinate closely with our attorneys in our white collar criminal defense, government contracts, and health care practices to develop strategies that address the complex issues that arise in these parallel proceedings. These include conducting internal investigations, persuading the government not to institute an action or intervene in a pending qui tam suit, and defending clients in parallel criminal investigations or government debarment proceedings. When a False Claims Act lawsuit is unsealed, we have the experience to successfully defend it, and we have obtained several dismissals of False Claims Act cases in the early stages of the litigation.