The following summaries are of recent published decisions of the California appellate courts, the Ninth Circuit, and the United States Supreme Court. The summaries are presented without regard to whether Severson & Werson represented a party in the case.
Under the state's False Claims Act and Insurance Frauds Prevention Act, a qui tam plaintiff must file the complaint under seal and send it to the Attorney General or Insuance Commissioner and district attorney. Only after those entities decide not to intervene and take over prosecution of the action may the plaintiff serve the defendant(s) and proceed to litigate the… Read More
Since 2010, the public disclosure bar to a False Claims Act qui tam action (31 USC 3730) has applied to public disclosure of the same claim in an "other" Federal "hearing." This decision holds that ex parte patent prosecutions before the Patent Office are other hearings for this purpose. The statute was intended to encompass public disclosures made in federal… Read More
This decision rejects plaintiff's argument that the PAGA statute violates the state constitution's separation of powers clause because it supposedly allows private citizens to seek civil penalties on the state’s behalf without the executive branch exercising sufficient prosecutorial discretion. The contention is barred by Iskanian v. CLS Transportation Los Angeles, LLC (2014) 59 Cal.4th 348, 360 which held that “PAGA… Read More
The Insurance Fraud Prevention Act (IFPA; Ins. Code 1871, et seq.) allows qui tam plaintiffs to file lawsuits on the government’s behalf and seek monetary penalties against perpetrators of insurance fraud. To prevent duplicative lawsuits, the IFPA contains a “first-to-file rule” (Ins. Code 1871.7(e)(5)) that bars parties from filing subsequent actions related to an already pending lawsuit. This decision holds… Read More
A qui tam complaint under the California False Claims Act must be filed under seal to give the Attorney General an opportunity to investigate the claim to see if she wishes to intervene and take over prosecution of the suit. While the complaint remains sealed at the Attorney General's or a local prosecutor's request, it is impossible, impractical or futile… Read More
The State of California is the real party in interest in a qui tam action brought by a private party under the Insurance Fraud Protection Act (Ins. Code 1871 et seq.). The state is not bound by an arbitration provision in a contract signed by the private party bringing the qui tam action. Accordingly, arbitration of the qui tam action… Read More
If a qui tam False Claims Act suit rests on genuinely new and material information not publicly disclosed by a government audit, report, hearing or investigation, the suit may proceed though it arises from the same transactions as the prior public disclosure. Read More
