Widening a Split, Sixth Circuit Says FCA Amendments Apply to Pending Cases, Not Claims

When Congress amended the False Claims Act in 2009, it provided that the change broadening the liability provision for false statements should apply retroactively to all "claims" under the FCA that were pending on or after June 7, 2008. In U.S. ex rel. Sanders v. Allison Engine Co. (6th Cir. Nov. 2, 2012), the Sixth Circuit declined to follow the Ninth and Eleventh Circuits' holdings that this amendment applies only to requests or demands for money or property that were pending as of June 7, 2008, and, instead, followed the Second and Seventh in finding that this amendment applies to any "civil action or case" that was pending then.