In a Bloomberg Law article, Phillips & Cohen partner Claire Sylvia discusses the “rules of the game” of False Claims Act lawsuits three years after the Supreme Court’s decision in Universal Health Services, Inc v. United States ex rel. Escobar.
Unless or until the Supreme Court says otherwise, contractors will still raise the continued payments defense, but, “I don’t expect courts to adopt those argument where the government did not have actual knowledge of a violation,” said attorney Claire Sylvia of whistleblower law firm Phillips & Cohen LLP in San Francisco.
“In addition, where the government has good reasons to continue paying, the continued payment does not reflect that the government considers a violation unimportant,” Sylvia said.
This view is consistent with that of U.S. Senator Charles Grassley (R-Iowa). He took to the Senate floor in February 2018 to critique courts swayed by the continued payments defense strategy.
Read the full article, “Circuit Splits Over Fraud Law Endure as Top Court Ruling Turns 3,” on Bloomberg Law’s website (subscription required).