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

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 | 5 min read | 08.21.26

FTC Proposes Enforcement Policy Statement on Personalized Pricing: What Businesses Need to Know

On August 19, 2026, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced a proposed Enforcement Policy Statement on personalized pricing — the practice of companies using consumers’ personal data to set individualized prices, discounts, coupons, or other incentives. The proposed statement, which is open for public comment for 30 days following publication in the Federal Register, marks a major step up in the FTC’s focus on data-driven pricing strategies and puts businesses across industries on notice that undisclosed or inadequately disclosed personalized pricing will not be tolerated. Importantly, while the proposed statement is not a binding legal requirement and does not create new legal obligations, it serves as an enforcement warning that the FTC is prepared to use its existing enforcement authority under Section 5 of the FTC Act (Section 5) and is also a potential harbinger of rulemaking. Businesses that engage in — or are considering — personalized pricing should carefully assess their disclosure practices and data collection procedures against the standards articulated in this statement....

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