Public Disclosure Of "Industry-Wide" Overbilling Practice Bars Qui Tam Suit Based Upon Similar But Undisclosed Fraudulent Transactions
Client Alert | 1 min read | 02.21.06
In United States ex rel. Gear v. Emergency Medical Assocs. of Ill. , the Seventh Circuit took an expansive view of the False Claims Act's ["FCA"] "public disclosure" bar , concluding that media and governmental reports concerning the general type of unlawful scheme alleged in a qui tam complaint sufficed to defeat the court's jurisdiction, even though such reports did not identify the particular defendant or any specific instances of its alleged misconduct. Specifically, the Seventh Circuit held that medical journal articles and a series of Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General audits concerning "industry-wide" Medicare billing abuses in which hospitals sought reimbursement for services provided by residents as if they were licensed attending physicians, were "public disclosures" that barred the relator's complaint involving alleged similar overbilling schemes, despite the fact that the disclosures did not identify the two defendants or their specific fraudulent transactions.
Insights
Client Alert | 3 min read | 10.15.25
On August 15, 2025, the Treasury Department and IRS released updated guidance concerning Beginning of Construction requirements to qualify for clean energy tax credits. This new guidance is critical for developers to consider as they rush to qualify for the tax credits before they expire entirely. The much-anticipated guidance followed the July 7, 2025 Executive Order 14315, Ending Market Distorting Subsidies for Unreliable, Foreign-Controlled Energy Sources (“July 7, 2025 Executive Order”), which signaled that the Trump Administration was planning to strictly enforce the termination of production and investment tax credits for solar and wind facilities that are set to expire under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBB Act), covered in more detail here. The new guidance comes at a time when many in the industry are struggling to keep up with the myriad ways that the new administration is working to roll back wind and solar tax credits, leaving developers to piece through the recent guidance to determine how best to structure and invest in clean energy projects given the volatile position of the current administration vis-a-vis wind and solar energy.
Client Alert | 10 min read | 10.15.25
Client Alert | 4 min read | 10.14.25
Client Alert | 35 min read | 10.13.25
Building Blocks of Design Law: CJEU rules on LEGO Group Modular Design Protection
