Tennessee’s Meridian Surgical Partners to Pay $5.12 Million to Settle False Claims Act Lawsuit

Brentwood, Tennessee-area surgical center management company Meridian Surgical Partners has agreed to pay a total of $5.12 million to settle allegations of healthcare fraud. Healthcare fraud continues to reign as the top-grossing area of recovery under the False Claims Act, and the Department of Health and Human Services – in […]

Department of Justice Takes Aim at Physician Investors in Anti-Kickback Crackdown

We recently reported on the government’s decision to intervene in a False Claims Act lawsuit against spinal surgeon Aria Sabit, which involved allegations of medically unnecessary spinal fusion operations in exchange for kickbacks from the Reliance Medical Group. In a simultaneous and related event, the Department of Justice filed its […]

Eighth Circuit Adds to Rule 9(b) Confusion in Thayer v. Planned Parenthood of the Heartland

If you’ve been following along, you’ll know that the federal Courts of Appeal are engaged in a near-even split with regard to the applicability of Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 9(b) in the False Claims Act context. In general, a civil plaintiff must set forth general facts in a complaint […]

Massachusetts Attorney General Asks First Circuit to Review Pivotal False Claims Act Ruling

While many aspects of the False Claims Act are firmly settled by consistent holdings by federal district and appellate courts, other areas are more grey – including how much weight should be given to the difference between a condition of payment and a condition of participation. In today’s article, we […]

New York District Court Adds to Rule 9(b) Confusion

As we have reported in previous posts, Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 9(b) has emerged as an obstacle in some jurisdictions when applied to the pleadings submitted in False Claims Act cases. In sum, Rule 9(b) imposes heightened specificity requirements in certain federal filings. The rule is often applied in […]