False Claims Act (Litigator Series)

THIS CASEBOOK contains a selection of 204 U. S. Court of Appeals decisions that analyze, interpret and apply provisions of the False Claims Act. The selection of decisions spans from 2004 to the date of publication.

The False Claims Act is an "expansive[]" statute, intended "to reach all types of fraud, without qualification, that might result in financial loss to the Government." Cook Cnty., Ill. v. United States ex rel. Chandler, 538 U.S. 119, 129 (2003). [. . .] To be actionable, a false or fraudulent statement must be material to the government's decision to pay a claim. United States ex rel. Loughren v. Unum Grp., 613 F.3d 300, 307 (1st Cir. 2010). The Act's qui tam provisions authorize private individuals to sue on behalf of the United States in order to recover monies alleged to have been defrauded from the government. 31 U.S.C. § 3730(b); United States ex rel. Duxbury v. Ortho Biotech Prods., L.P., 719 F.3d 31, 33 (1st Cir. 2013). US v. Universal Health Services, Inc., (1st Cir. 2015).

In defining the notion of "falsity" under the FCA, which the statute itself does not do, a number of circuits have developed two categories of false submissions: those that are factually false and those that are legally false. See, e.g., United States ex rel. Conner v. Salina Reg'l Health Ctr., Inc., 543 F.3d 1211, 1217 (10th Cir. 2008); Mikes v. Straus, 274 F.3d 687, 696-97 (2d Cir. 2001). Courts have further subdivided claims in the latter group based on whether they proceed on a theory of either "implied" or "express" certification of compliance with conditions of payment. See United States ex rel. Wilkins v. United Health Grp., Inc., 659 F.3d 295, 305-06 (3d Cir. 2011) (collecting cases). US v. Universal Health Services, Inc., ibid.

[C]laims under the FCA "must also meet the more stringent 'particularity' requirement of Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 9(b)." United States ex rel. Ahumada v. NISH, 756 F.3d 268, 280 (4th Cir.2014). Rule 9(b) requires that "an FCA plaintiff must, at a minimum, describe the time, place, and contents of the false representations, as well as the identity of the person making the misrepresentation and what he obtained thereby." United States ex rel. Wilson v. Kellogg Brown & Root, Inc., 525 F.3d 370, 379 (4th Cir.2008) (internal quotation marks omitted). Imposing this requirement serves to deter "fishing expeditions." United States ex rel. Harrison v. Westinghouse Savannah River Co., 176 F.3d 776, 789 (4th Cir.1999) (Harrison I). US v. Triple Canopy, Inc., 775 F. 3d 628 (4th Cir. 2015).

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