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  3. |Just When You Thought It Was Over: Eleventh Circuit Deepens Disagreement on FCA's Tolling Provision

Just When You Thought It Was Over: Eleventh Circuit Deepens Disagreement on FCA's Tolling Provision

Client Alert | 1 min read | 06.13.18

In U.S. ex rel. Hunt v. Cochise Consultancy Inc., the Eleventh Circuit held that a relator in a non-intervened qui tam action may rely on the FCA’s tolling provision in 31 U.SC. § 3731(b)(2), which expands the 6-year statute of limitations to allow suits to be brought within 3 years of the date that the relevant government official learns of the alleged violation. In so holding, the court disagreed with already divergent views from the Fourth, Tenth, and Ninth Circuits, increasing the depth of the circuit split on this issue. C&M attorneys discuss the Eleventh Circuit’s decision and its potential impact in a recent post for Crowell & Moring’s Government Contracts Legal Forum.

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Client Alert | 6 min read | 11.26.25

From ‘Second’ to ‘First:’ Federal Circuit Tackles Obvious Claim Errors

Patent claims must be clear and definite, as they set the boundaries of the patentee’s rights. Occasionally, however, claim language contains errors, such as typographical mistakes or incorrect numbering. Courts possess very limited authority to correct such errors. The United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit has emphasized that judicial correction is appropriate only in rare circumstances, where (1) the error is evident from the face of the patent, and (2) the proposed correction is the sole reasonable interpretation in view of the claim language, specification, and prosecution history. See Group One, Ltd. v. Hallmark Cards, Inc., 407 F.3d 1297, 1303 (Fed. Cir. 2005) and Novo Indus., L.P. v. Micro Molds Corp., 350 F.3d 1348, 1357 (Fed. Cir. 2003)....