ATTORNEY NEWSLETTER

Ninth Circuit Reinstates Whistleblower Case

False Claims Act Suit

Recently, the Ninth Circuit reinstated all claims of a whistleblower (also called a “relator” in some whistleblower/qui tam cases) brought under the federal False Claims Act (FCA) against Gilead Sciences, Inc., the large pharmaceutical company. The lawsuit alleges non-compliance by the drug company with Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulations and Good Manufacturing Practices (GMPs). The non-compliance allegedly led to defective batches of drugs being sold to the federal, state and municipal governments. Those sales, according to the complaint, violated the FCA. Evans Law Firm, Inc. and co-counsel handled the case. Our attorneys have extensive experience with whistleblower/qui tam cases under the federal and California False Claims Act, including cases of Medicare and Medicaid fraud, and whistleblower cases of tax avoidance schemes and securities and investment fraud. If you have credible information for a whistleblower case, call the Evans Law Firm Inc. today at (415) 441-8669.

In the recent Ninth Circuit case, the relator claimed that the company skirted FDA regulations and GMPs in order to manufacture and sell contaminated batches of widely-used prescription anti-HIV, Cystic fibrosis and anti-hypertension drugs, for use by vulnerable and at-risk patient populations. The defendant drug company is the world’s largest producer of anti-HIV drug therapies.

The US District Court previously dismissed the relator’s FCA claims but the Ninth Circuit reversed and reinstated all of the relator’s claims. The Ninth Circuit found the relator sufficiently plead all of the elements of recognized claims under the False Claims Act, including the allegation that the defendant had retaliated against the relator by termination of employment after the allegedly fraudulent practices were brought to light.

Whistleblower/qui tam cases are long and very complex. The case must begin with original and credible information of false claims and include hard documentation and other evidence supporting that information. We here at Evans Law Firm have years of experience with whistleblower and qui tam cases brought under the False Claims Act and US tax laws against tax avoidance schemes. We know what the government looks for in these cases and know how best to structure, organize, and present your evidence and documentation through initial application or complaint, discovery and investigation, and trial.

Contact Us

If you or a loved one has information regarding a whistleblower or qui tam case in Santa Clara County or any California county brought under the False Claims Act or under the Internal Revenue Code for prosecution of tax avoidance schemes including offshore schemes, contact the Evans Law Firm whistleblower and qui tam attorneys at (415) 441-8669, or by email at info@evanslaw.com. Our attorneys have experience with complex financial contracts and large insurance companies. We can help guide your case through a jury trial or toward an equitable settlement. We handle cases involving physical and financial elder abuse, qui tam and whistleblower law, nursing home abuse, whole life insurance and universal life insurance, and indexed, variable, and fixed annuities.