Supreme Court

The Supreme Court Has Spoken – The FCA and Scienter

“For scienter, it is enough if respondents believed that their claims were not accurate.” 1 - Justice Thomas On June 1, 2023, the Supreme Court issued its opinion on the ongoing False Claims Act (“FCA”) scienter issues (the “Opinion”) – i.e., does a company’s objective or subjective knowledge matter regarding whether its submissions to...
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The Supreme Court continues to define the False Claims Act

The Supreme Court continues to define the False Claims Act (“FCA”). In September 2022, Ward & Berry explained the possibility of the Supreme Court taking on a second FCA case¹ this term, and why we should care about it. Short answer: The “knowledge” aspect of the FCA is under heavy debate and any resolution...
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Supreme Court Dismissal of In re Grand Jury What This Means for (Potentially) Privileged Communications Going Forward

Posted on January 25, 2023
“If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” – Justice Kagan The Supreme Court decided to dismiss In re Grand Jury as “improvidently granted” in its January 23, 2023 Order after hearing oral argument on the case earlier this month. In other words, after agreeing to hear the case, and instead of establishing clear law...
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The False Claims Act Standard – Why Do We Care?

Two contractors walk into a bar (named Public Disclosure). The first says, “Let’s cheat the Government!” The second says, “Great; I know just how to do it, I’m going to charge less than our regular prices – ON PURPOSE – just to mess with Uncle Sam.”   The contractors are overhead by a serial whistleblower,...
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