United States ex rel. Hartpence v. Kinetic Concepts, Inc., No. 12-55396 (9th Cir. July 2015) is one of many recent decisions limiting a contractor’s ability to dismiss False Claims Act (“FCA”) lawsuits at an early stage of the litigation. In Hartpence, the Ninth Circuit resurrected two FCA cases in one sweeping decision by interpreting the public disclosure and first-to-file bars in a relator-friendly manner that further erodes the protections contractors have against potentially parasitic FCA lawsuits filed after the government is aware of the alleged fraud.
Continue Reading Ninth Circuit Narrows Application of the False Claims Act’s Public Disclosure and First to File Bars