Washington, DC–April 18, 2023 – Today the Supreme Court heard oral arguments in United States ex rel. Schutte v. SuperValu, Inc., a set of cases concerning a critical element of liability under the False Claims Act (FCA) – a defendant’s mental state.
Statement of Claire Sylvia, partner and whistleblower attorney at Phillips and Cohen:
“The Justices seemed to view the case as presenting a narrow question of whether the Seventh Circuit was wrong when it said subjective intent does not matter. While it is often hard to tell from oral argument, many of the Justices seemed to think that the Seventh Circuit was clearly wrong on that issue and seemed inclined to reverse on that ground. As Justice Gorsuch noted, the respondent’s arguments about what it actually believed were arguments for the jury, but the statute itself includes a subjective element.”