Tag Archives: FCA

The Sixth Circuit Clarifies Pleading Standards

United States ex rel. Andrew Hirt v. Walgreen Company offers an important cautionary tale for plaintiffs considering claims, or defendants facing claims, brought under the False Claims Act. But it also offers some insights regarding allegations of fraud more generally. The Sixth Circuit faced, head-on, the question of the heightened pleadings standard, and made clear … Continue Reading

Sixth Circuit Reverses Government’s $650 Million Verdict in False Claims Case

On Monday, the Sixth Circuit issued its published opinion in United States v. United Technologies Corp., the most recent appeal in several rounds of fraud litigation stemming from jet engine prices charged to the government over thirty years ago. The case stemmed from prices charged by Pratt & Whitney (now part of United Technologies) to … Continue Reading

Sixth Circuit Defines “Public Disclosure” Bar to False Claims Act Suits, Weighs in on Circuit Split

Late last month, the Sixth Circuit issued a decision in United States ex rel. Whipple v. Chattanooga-Hamilton County Hospital Authority, a False Claims Act case against a hospital for fraudulent Medicare and Medicaid claims, and held that internal government disclosures in previous investigations do not trigger the “public disclosure” bar of the FCA. In 2006, an … Continue Reading

Sixth Circuit: Applicant Can’t Sue For Rejection Based On Whistleblowing At Prior Job

The Sixth Circuit held yesterday in Vander Boegh v. EnergySolutions, Inc. that a job applicant is not considered an “employee” under the False Claims Act and the Energy Reorganization Act, and therefore cannot avail himself of the Acts’ retaliation provisions.  The plaintiff, a former landfill manager who had reported environmental violations at his prior job, alleged … Continue Reading
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