Seal Violation Does Not Mandate Dismissal, Supreme Court Says
Client Alert | 1 min read | 12.07.16
On December 6, 2016, the Supreme Court in State Farm and Casualty Co. v. U.S. ex rel. Rigsby rejected the argument that a violation of the FCA’s seal requirement — here, disclosure of the allegations of the sealed complaint to the news media by relator’s counsel — mandates dismissal of a relator’s complaint, holding instead that such a determination is better left to the discretion of the district court. The Court reasoned that the FCA is silent as to the remedy for violating the seal provision, whereas it expressly mandates dismissal elsewhere, and that a rule mandating dismissal could harm the government’s interests —which the seal requirement was meant to protect — by depriving the government of assistance from relators on which it relies to prosecute FCA claims.
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Client Alert | 3 min read | 04.21.26
Brussels – April 21, 2026: Lauren Cuyvers has joined Crowell & Moring as a partner in its highly regarded Privacy and Cybersecurity Group, expanding the firm’s ability to provide critical legal counsel to clients managing a complex and rapidly changing privacy and cybersecurity landscape globally. She is the third addition to the firm’s Brussels office in the last six months and the fourth partner to join the firm’s Privacy and Cybersecurity Group in the last year.
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