ATTORNEY NEWSLETTER
Disagreement Over Government’s Power To Dismiss
Senator Grassley Speaks Out Again
Since early 2018, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has actively sought to dismiss dozens of cases brought by whistleblowers under the False Claims Act (FCA), 31 U.S.C. § 3729 et seq. Senator Chuck Grassley (R.-Iowa), a leading proponent of the FCA, questions this initiative. In a May 4, 2020 letter to Attorney General William Barr, Sen. Grassley “vehemently” disagreed with the DOJ’s view that the DOJ’s authority to dismiss an FCA claim “is an unreviewable exercise of prosecutorial authority.” The FCA whistleblower attorneys at Evans Law Firm, Inc. represent private citizen whistleblowers in all kinds of cases brought under the FCA for fraud against the government, and agree with Sen. Grassley on this point of law. If you have credible information of fraud against the federal government or the State of California that could be the basis of a false claims whistleblower suit, call us today at (415)441-8669.
Exercising a little-used provision in the FCA, the DOJ has moved to dismiss at least forty-five FCA cases since January 2018, when Michael Granston, Director of the Commercial Litigation Branch at DOJ, issued an internal memorandum known as the “Granston Memo” encouraging U.S. Attorneys throughout the country to dismiss FCA cases. The Granston Memo maintains that the FCA grants DOJ unfettered discretion to dismiss an FCA case over the objection of the relator (aka whistleblower), notwithstanding the requirement that the court provide the relator with a “hearing.” To Senator Grassley, “hearing” means “an adjudicative procedure where the court acts as an arbiter.” In other words, Sen. Grassley believes the statute gives the whistleblower the right to a real hearing on the merits of her case before the government can summarily dismiss it.
FCA Whistleblower Cases Recover Billions
The DOJ’s initiative to dismiss FCA suits moreover runs counter to the tremendous track record private whistleblower cases in recovering money for the government. In the last full fiscal year alone, the government collected over $2.1 billion in FCA cases initiated by whistleblowers. Over $1.1 billion of that total was from private whistleblower cases against healthcare providers alone, including drug manufacturers, clinics, labs, hospitals, and physicians groups for alleged fraud. Private citizens recover billions every year for the government – and taxpayers. If you have credible information of fraud against the government, call our litigators today.
Contact Us
If you or a loved one has information regarding a whistleblower or qui tam case of false claims for Medicare and Medicaid reimbursement, or bank fraud under The Financial Institutions Reform, Recovery, and Enforcement Act of 1989 (FIRREA/FIAFEA), securities fraud under the Commodities Futures Trading Commission Whistleblower Program and the Securities and Exchange Commission Whistleblower Program, other False Claims Act cases, the Internal Revenue Service Whistleblower Office, the FINRA Whistleblower Office or the California False Claims Act, contact Ingrid M. Evans and the other California whistleblower attorneys at Evans Law Firm, Inc. at (415) 441-8669, or by email at <a href=”mailto:info@evanslaw.com”>info@evanslaw.com</a>. Our attorneys have experience with large whistleblower cases, complex financial contract litigation, and large insurance companies. We can help guide your case through whistleblower false claims applications, discovery and investigation, a jury trial or toward an equitable settlement. We also handle cases involving physical and financial elder abuse, nursing home abuse, whole life insurance and universal life insurance, and indexed, variable, and fixed annuities.
