Fourth Circuit Accepts "Implied Certification" Theory When Contractual Requirement Is Unambiguous and Material
Client Alert | 1 min read | 01.12.15
On January 8, 2015, the Fourth Circuit, in U.S. ex rel. Badr v. Triple Canopy, Inc., reversed the district court's dismissal of allegations that the contractor had submitted false claims by invoicing for security guards who had failed to pass the marksmanship proficiency test even though the contractor never affirmatively certified to the guard's shooting proficiency or presented to the government the false test cards allegedly created to hide the deficiency. The Court noted that the implied certification theory was "prone to abuse" and that it had previously "guarded against turning what is essentially a breach of contract into an FCA violation," but concluded the best manner for drawing the line was by "strict enforcement of the Act's materiality and scienter requirements" and, here, the marksmanship requirement was an objective criterion and its materiality demonstrated by the contractor's alleged falsification of the scoring cards which were required to be maintained under the contract.
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Client Alert | 3 min read | 11.21.25
On November 7, 2025, in Thornton v. National Academy of Sciences, No. 25-cv-2155, 2025 WL 3123732 (D.D.C. Nov. 7, 2025), the District Court for the District of Columbia dismissed a False Claims Act (FCA) retaliation complaint on the basis that the plaintiff’s allegations that he was fired after blowing the whistle on purported illegally discriminatory use of federal funding was not sufficient to support his FCA claim. This case appears to be one of the first filed, and subsequently dismissed, following Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche’s announcement of the creation of the Civil Rights Fraud Initiative on May 19, 2025, which “strongly encourages” private individuals to file lawsuits under the FCA relating to purportedly discriminatory and illegal use of federal funding for diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives in violation of Executive Order 14173, Ending Illegal Discrimination and Restoring Merit-Based Opportunity (Jan. 21, 2025). In this case, the court dismissed the FCA retaliation claim and rejected the argument that an organization could violate the FCA merely by “engaging in discriminatory conduct while conducting a federally funded study.” The analysis in Thornton could be a sign of how forthcoming arguments of retaliation based on reporting allegedly fraudulent DEI activity will be analyzed in the future.
Client Alert | 3 min read | 11.20.25
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