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FOIA Release Is FCA 'Public Disclosure'

Client Alert | less than 1 min read | 11.30.09

In U.S. ex rel. Ondis v. City of Woonsocket (1st Cir. Nov.18, 2009), the First Circuit concluded that, under the False Claims Act's public disclosure bar, courts lack subject-matter jurisdiction over qui tam actions when the relator's allegations are based upon information released through Freedom of Information Act requests, finding that FOIA releases of "substantially similar" information which include the essential elements of the alleged fraud qualify as public disclosures. The court noted that it was joining the majority view, adopted by every circuit to consider the issue except the Fourth, taking into account the recent shift by the Seventh Circuit to the majority.

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Client Alert | 8 min read | 07.16.25

The New EU “Pharma Package”: The transferable exclusivity voucher—A comparison of Commission/Parliament/Council positions

In our first alert in this weekly series on the EU Pharma Package we provided some important background and general information about the status of the Pharma Package and how the trilogues work, and in the second alert we discussed the proposed changes to regulatory data protection....