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The Times They Are A’Changing – Or Are They? DOJ Announces It Will Move To Dismiss Qui Tam Complaints That Lack Merit

Client Alert | 1 min read | 11.13.17

After months of signaling that a change to the Department of Justice’s qui tam practices was imminent, Michael Granston, Director of the Civil Fraud Section, announced the change during a presentation at the Health Care Compliance Association’s Health Care Enforcement Compliance Institute on October 30. The Department of Justice will now move to dismiss a qui tam complaint when it concludes that it lacks merit. Although announced as a means of conserving judicial and litigant resources, we also wonder if the apparent change is spurred by a concern over the creation of bad law under Escobar’s materiality standard is a driving force behind this decision. Given that DOJ rarely exercises its statutory authority to move to dismiss a qui tam complaint, it should not be difficult to ascertain whether DOJ’s announcement is, in fact, a sign of a real shift in its enforcement tactics.

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Client Alert | 6 min read | 11.03.25

ICE Is Suddenly At The Door: How Retailers, Hospitals, And Hotels Can Survive The Surprise Visitor

Imagine a typical morning at your retail store, hospital, or hotel—customers are arriving, staff are busy, and suddenly, federal agents from ICE appear at your front desk. The surprise is real, but panic does not have to be. Unannounced inspections conducted by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) inspectors have been occurring for years, but in recent months, ICE has ramped up inspection visits across the service sector, targeting I-9 compliance and employment records. These visits are not always dramatic raids; more often, they are routine checks that can escalate if your team is not prepared....

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