Seventh Circuit Applies Offsets to FCA Damages Before Trebling
Client Alert | 1 min read | 03.22.13
In U.S. v. Anchor Mortgage Corp. (7th Cir. Mar. 21, 2013), Chief Judge Easterbrook held that, in calculating the damages to be trebled under the FCA, courts must use a "contract measure of loss" approach that would take into account any offsets for value or payments received by the government prior to trebling. The court read the Supreme Court's decision in U.S. v. Bornstein to require third-party payments to be subtracted after multiplying the damages only when such payments are not part of a "contract measure of loss" calculation, a limitation that could significantly reduce FCA damages in many contexts.
Insights
Client Alert | 3 min read | 06.12.26
DOJ Guidance Backs Away From Disparate Impact Liability
On June 9, 2026, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) issued a formal opinion concluding that the Equal Opportunity Employment Commission’s (EEOC) existing interpretations of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (Title VII) disparate-impact liability, including the Uniform Guidelines on Employee Selection Procedures (UGESP), are unconstitutional. According to the opinion, EEOC’s prior interpretations contemplate liability based on disproportionately adverse effects alone, without regard to an employer’s likely intent, rather than treating disparate impact as an evidentiary mechanism to “smoke out” intentional discrimination. DOJ found that this approach functions as a “qualified racial-proportionality mandate” that places “a racial thumb on the scales, often requiring employers to evaluate the racial outcomes of their policies, and to make decisions based on (because of) those racial outcomes.” The opinion fulfills one mandate of Executive Order 14281, which rejected disparate-impact liability insofar as it “creates a near insurmountable presumption that unlawful discrimination exists wherever there are any differences in outcomes among different [demographic groups].”
Client Alert | 4 min read | 06.12.26
Auto Dealers: The FTC Is Back in the Driver’s Seat — Warning Letters Signal Renewed Federal Scrutiny
Client Alert | 13 min read | 06.12.26
Client Alert | 4 min read | 06.12.26
