1. Home
  2. |Insights
  3. |All's Not Fair in FCA Wars

All's Not Fair in FCA Wars

Client Alert | 1 min read | 05.28.13

In U.S. ex rel. Hartpence v. Kinetic Concepts, Inc. (C.D. Cal. May 20, 2013), the district court disqualified relators' counsel for using privileged materials taken by the relators when they left the employ of the defendant to craft their claims and pleadings. The court found that (1) the relators' counsel were put on notice by the government of the potentially privileged nature of the documents and had an obligation to take reasonable remedial actions before using the materials; (2) the use of the privileged materials to craft claims was alone sufficient to show a risk of prejudice; (3) no showing of bad faith is required for disqualification, but the fact that relators' counsel decided to quote the documents in pleadings without seeking guidance from the court was "tantamount to bad faith;" and (4) even if defendant provided final copies of the materials that were almost identical to the privileged draft versions, as relators' counsel claimed, that did not excuse their obligation to take reasonable remedial actions regarding the privileged versions.

Insights

Client Alert | 12 min read | 04.03.25

CMS Issues Marketplace Integrity and Affordability Proposed Rule

In its first healthcare proposed regulation, the Trump Administration, through the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), displayed on March 10, 2025, a proposed rule titled, “2025 Marketplace Integrity and Affordability Proposed Rule” (the Proposed Rule), which proposes policy changes for the Health Insurance Marketplaces that impact health plans and insurers offering Affordable Care Act (ACA) coverage to consumers. Specifically, the Proposed Rule shortens the Annual Open Enrollment Period (OEP) for all individual market coverage; proposes standards related to income verification for Health Insurance Marketplaces (Marketplaces); modifies eligibility redetermination procedures; and eliminates eligibility for “Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals” (DACA) recipients, among other provisions.  ...