Widening a Split, Sixth Circuit Says FCA Amendments Apply to Pending Cases, Not Claims
Client Alert | less than 1 min read | 11.06.12
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.
Insights
Client Alert | 2 min read | 11.14.25
Claim construction is a key stage of most patent litigations, where the court must decide the meaning of any disputed terms in the patent claims. Generally, claim terms are given their plain and ordinary meaning except under two circumstances: (1) when the patentee acts as its own lexicographer and sets out a definition for the term; and (2) when the patentee disavows the full scope of the term either in the specification or during prosecution. Thorner v. Sony Comput. Ent. Am. LLC, 669 F.3d 1362, 1365 (Fed. Cir. 2012). The Federal Circuit’s recent decision in Aortic Innovations LLC v. Edwards Lifesciences Corp. highlights that patentees can act as their own lexicographers through consistent, interchangeable usage of terms across the specification, effectively defining terms by implication.
Client Alert | 6 min read | 11.14.25
Microplastics Update: Regulatory and Litigation Developments in 2025
Client Alert | 6 min read | 11.13.25
