One of the issues in the case is a key retroactivity provision of the False Claims Act, as amended by the Fraud Enforcement and Recovery Act of 2009 (FERA) (signed into law May 20, 2009). In an opinion issued in October 2009, the District Court essentially held that because FERA’s amendments in Section 3729(a) create liability for conduct that was not previously actionable, they are unconstitutional on grounds they violate the Ex Post Facto clause. The Court also found that the wording of the retroactivity provision was directed to “claims” pending as of the retroactivity date, not “cases,” so that provision did not apply to the claims at issue in Allison, which had been submitted 15 or more years earlier.

This action by DOJ was taken to support Relators’ “Motion To Certify . . . For Interlocutory Appeal” filed on the same date. Both motions argue that the District Court’s Order involves a controlling issue of law, that there are substantial grounds for differences of opinion regarding the Order and that an immediate appeal would materially advance the litigation. If the motions are granted, the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals will be asked to decide both the constitutionality of the retroactivity provision of FERA and whether that provision applies to “claims” or “cases” that are pending on the retroactivity date, June 7, 2008. The case is important because unless DOJ and the Relator succeed in overturning the District Court, an important False Claims Act (“FCA”) provision as amended by FERA will not apply retroactively and its application will be construed in a manner very limited to plaintiff’s. It is likely that if the Sixth Circuit hears the appeal, that it will at least hold that the retroactivity provision was directed to “cases” not claims.

For more information about qui tam law and health care fraud, contact Nolan and Auerbach, PA.

To read the press release and the senator’s statement, go to http://leahy.senate.gov/press/200904/042209a.html.

For more information about qui tam law and health care fraud, contact Nolan and Auerbach, PA.

Grassley says in his April 20, 2009, statement that special interests are surfacing, who don’t want to encourage whistleblowers to report wrongdoing and are looking to squelch the bill.

The point: We can’t keep spending, as a nation, without taking steps to combat fraud and abuse. The Fraud Enforcement and Recovery Act not only ensures that law enforcement officials and prosecutors have the tools and resources necessary to enforce our laws, but it also amends the civil False Claims Act to ensure that taxpayer money lost to fraud, waste or abuse can be recovered.

The legislation, most importantly, will ensure that the law adheres to the FCA’s original intent.

“Specifically, these amendments address a loophole that was created in the FCA by the Supreme Court decision in Allison Engine which could be used by fraudfeasors to evade liability by hiring subcontractors to perform work on government contracts.  Some defendants are already filing briefs in court seeking to have FCA cases dismissed based upon this decision, and it needs to be addressed to protect taxpayer dollars,” Grassley writes.

“We need to act now to stomp out new claims of fraud to send a message that the American taxpayers won’t be taken for a ride.”

To read the entire statement, go to: http://grassley.senate.gov/news/Article.cfm?customel_dataPageID_1502=20209.

For more information about qui tam law and health care fraud, contact Nolan and Auerbach, PA .

In the letter, the coalition asks the president to strongly endorse legislation that would protect from retaliation of federal employees who expose waste, fraud, abuse, suppression of federal research, and threats to public health and safety, and give them access to jury trials. The legislation would also direct federal government agency heads to institute “no-retaliation” policies for employees.

The groups are concerned that a signing statement issued by the president on March 11, attached to H.R. 1105, the omnibus spending bill, contradicts those earlier steps and could have a chilling affect on lawful whistleblowing disclosures, according to a press release about the letter on Project on Government Oversight’s website.

To read the letter, click here. For a copy of the POGO press release, go to http://www.pogo.org/pogo-files/alerts/whistleblower-issues/wi-wp-20090401.html.

For more information about qui tam law, whisleblowers and health care fraud, contact Nolan and Auerbach, PA.

The lawsuit contends that the medical labs systematically overcharged the Medi-Cal program during the past 15 years. The defendants, including Quest Diagnostics and Laboratory Corporation of America, allegedly engaged in illegal kickbacks and overcharging the state by up to 400% for blood, urine and other lab tests. It is estimated that damages could amount to hundreds of millions of dollars.

Filed under California’s False Claims Act, the qui tam lawsuit asks for relief in the amount of triple the amount of California’s damages, civil penalties of $10,000 for each false claim; and recovery of costs, attorneys’ fees and expenses.

This is one of the largest, if not the largest, single state qui tam intervention against multiple laboratories, in history.

To read the full press release, go to: http://ag.ca.gov/newsalerts/release.php?id=1705&. For more about qui tam law and Healthcare Fraud, contact Nolan and Auerbach, PA.

For the full article, go to: http://washingtontimes.com/news/2009/mar/12/sec-considers-cash-bounties-to-whistleblowers/.

For more about qui tam whistleblower law, contact Nolan and Auerbach, PA.

According to the U.S. Department of Justice, which made this announcement March 6, 2009, the suit was filed under the qui tam or whistleblower provisions of the FCA by Robert Baker, a former revenue manager in CHS’s corporate office.

The relator’s complaint alleges that, beginning in 2000, CHS and its hospitals improperly obtained federal funds through the New Mexico Sole Community Provider Fund (SCPF) and Sole Community Hospital Supplemental Payments (SCHSP) Medicaid programs.

To review the DOH press release, go to http://www.usdoj.gov/opa/pr/2009/March/09-civ-200.html. Or, for more information about the False Claims Act or qui tam whistleblower law, contact Nolan and Auerbach, PA.

To review the legislation, go to http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/z?c111:S.458: Or, for more information about qui tam whistleblower law, contact Nolan and Auerbach, PA.

To read more, click here.

On April 11, 2007, however, the Department of Justice  indicated that they are interested in the $30 million the jury said was defrauded by Kerr-McGee and has requested the judge to grant them time to decide whether to intervene.

To read more on this article click here and to read more on False Claims Act click on Nolan & Auerbach.