The End of Chevron Deference: What It Means for False Claims Act Litigation
- Under the Supreme Court’s decision in Chevron USA Inc. v. Natural Resources Defense Council, Inc. , 467 U.S. 837 (1984), for decades courts have sometimes been required “to defer to ‘permissible’ agency interpretations of [ambiguities in] statutes those agencies administer—even when a reviewing court... ›
United States Supreme Court: Look to Defendant’s Subjective Beliefs to Decide Whether It “Knowingly” Submitted False Claim
By: Adam L. Braverman, J. Alex Ward and Joseph R. Palmore
On June 1, 2023, the Supreme Court issued a decision in United States ex rel. Schutte v. SuperValu, Inc., clarifying when a defendant “knowingly” submits a false claim for payment under the False Claims Act (FCA). The Court held that a defendant that submits... ›Supreme Court Weighs in on the Role of Subjective Intent Under the False Claims Act
By: J. Alex Ward and Krista A. Nunez
On Tuesday, April 18, 2023, the Supreme Court heard argument in the consolidated cases of United States ex rel. Schutte v. SuperValu, Inc. , and United States ex rel. Proctor v. Safeway, Inc. , to consider whether subjective knowledge about the falsity of a... ›Supreme Court to Consider the False Claims Act’s Intent Standard
By: Victoria Dalcourt Angle, J. Alex Ward, Adam L. Braverman and Joseph R. Palmore
On Friday, January 13, the Supreme Court agreed to consider whether the False Claims Act (“FCA”) covers compliance lapses tied to regulatory interpretations that are incorrect but “objectively reasonable.” The Supreme Court granted petitions for writs of certiorari in two cases, United States ex... ›Supreme Court to Consider Whether the Government Can Dismiss a False Claims Act Suit if It Opted Not to Intervene at the Outset
By: J. Alex Ward and Victoria Dalcourt Angle
The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to consider whether the Government can dismiss a False Claims Act (“FCA”) lawsuit pursuant to 31 U.S.C. § 3730(c)(2)(A) over the Relator’s objections after initially choosing not to intervene in the case and, if so, what standard applies.... ›Five Million Reasons for Government Contracts Lawyers to Assist with the Acquisition of Companies That Perform Government Contracts
By: James A. Tucker, Damien C. Specht and Alissandra Young McCann
Due diligence is an important preliminary step before one company acquires another or an investor puts millions behind an existing firm. When a target company performs government contracts or subcontracts, it is critical that experienced government contracts attorneys be part of the due diligence... ›Aerojet Settles False Claims Act Case Alleging That the Company Misrepresented Its Compliance with Cybersecurity Requirements
By: J. Alex Ward, Tina D. Reynolds and Victoria Dalcourt Angle
Aerojet and the qui tam relator have entered into a 13th hour settlement—after a jury was seated and the trial was underway—to resolve the much-watched United States ex rel. Brian Markus v. Aerojet Rocketdyne, Inc. False Claims Act (“FCA”) case. The parties—including the Department... ›False Claims in Independent Research and Development (IR&D): Federal District Court Adopts ATK Thiokol as the Knowledge Standard
By: Locke Bell
Many government contractors, like other private enterprises, invest heavily in research and development (R&D) to improve the products and services they offer, in hopes of better meeting their customers’ needs. When those R&D efforts are “independent” of any particular contract—hence “IR&D” or “IRAD”—the associated... ›DOJ Releases False Claims Act Statistics for Fiscal Year 2021
By: Brian K. Kidd, Adam L. Braverman and Demme Doufekias
On February 1, 2022, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced that it collected more than $5.6 billion in False Claims Act (FCA) settlements and judgments in fiscal year 2021. This is the largest annual total since 2014, and the second largest in FCA... ›Cyber Compliance On Trial: Court Denies Summary Judgment in Aerojet FCA Case
By: J. Alex Ward and Tina D. Reynolds
Aerojet Rocketdyne received another blow last week in its long running battle to end a 2015 False Claims Act suit alleging it lied about its compliance with cybersecurity requirements in order to win several federal contracts. In United States ex rel. Brian Markus v.... ›