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Qui Tam

Virginia Qui Tam Law

Dedicated to qui tam practice in Virginia under the Virginia Fraud Against Taxpayers Act and the Federal False Claims Act.
By Zachary A. Kitts

Post Frequency: 0.8/day

Last Entry: July 06, 2010 at 16:56:00

Announcing the Largest Federal Qui Tam/False Claims Act Settlement in History--and Virginia's Share

Posted on September 02, 2009
Today, the United States Department of Justice announced the largest qui tam/False Claims Act settlement in history--all totaled, Phizer will pay $2.3 billion to settle civil and criminal allegations that it committed a wide variety of fraud with regard to a number of its drugs...

Fighting fraud should be bipartisan in California

Posted on August 27, 2009
Just in from California is this article from Capitol Weekly: the Newspaper of California Government and Politics in which California state Rep. Bob Blumenfield opines on California's struggle to update its state false claims act. As has been discussed on this blog many times, on May 20th of this year the federal False Claims Act was amended and, as a result, became a much more formidable tool in the fight against fraud waste and abuse of federal money...

The ACLU's Ill-Advised Publicity Stunt Comes to an End

Posted on August 21, 2009
Today, Judge O'Grady issued his opinion in ACLU et al., v. Eric Holder, et al. 1:09cv042 (E.D.Va.) thus ending an ill-advised publicity stunt by the ACLU, some entity calling itself "Government Accountability Project" and another called "OMB Watch...

Oregon Joins the Deficit Reduction Club

Posted on August 19, 2009
Congratulations to Oregon for becoming the 25th state to join the Deficit Reduction Club by passing a state false claims act.There is no need to speculate about the benefits Oregon will receive from this common-sense legislation--we have the examples of Virginia and 24 other states to guide us...

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The First Shots in the Battle Over the Retroactivity Provisions of the New False Claims Act

Posted on August 12, 2009
As previously discussed on this blog, revamped federal False Claims Act became law on May 21, 2009. While the changes made by the Fraud Enforcement and Recovery Act of 2009 do not go as far those in the still-pending FCA Corrections Act, the changes represent a significant increase in the fraud-fighting power of the government and private qui tam relators...

This sure explains a few things....

Posted on July 13, 2009
Having followed Maryland's battle to enact a Maryland False Claims Act, I can't help but point out this article from the Washington Post. It seems former Maryland Republican Party Chairman John Kane has been nailed under the federal False Claims Act. The allegations are that Kane's company, and its subsidiaries (including Office Movers, Inc...

New SCOTUS Opinion on the Federal False Claims Act

Posted on June 08, 2009
Today SCOTUS issued its opinion in United States ex rel Eisenstein v. City of New York, et al., holding that if the United States declines to intervene in a False Claims Act case initiated by a qui tam relator, the United States is not considered a "party" to the litigation for purposes of determining when a party must file its notice of appeal...

Introducing the New and Improved Federal False Claims Act!

Posted on June 02, 2009
As I mentioned a week or two ago, the Federal False Claims Act has been updated and improved by the Fraud Enforcement and Recovery Act of 2009. While the amendments to the FCA fall short of those proposed in the still-pending False Claims Correction Act of 2009, the amendments are important and were needed...

JOHN BROWNLEE FOR ATTORNEY GENERAL OF VIRGINIA IN 2009

Posted on May 19, 2009
With a little under two weeks remaining in the Republican primary for Attorney General of Virginia, Republican convention-goers are faced with a choice between John Brownlee, Ken Cuccinelli, and Dave Foster. This blog has covered the Virginia AG's race in some detail, despite the fact that this is a legal and not a political blog...

THE FEDERAL FALSE CLAIMS ACT IS REVAMPED FOR THE TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY!!!!

Posted on May 19, 2009
In 1986, with the budgetary strains caused by the cold-war, and with fraudsters draining the U.S. Treasury with impunity, Congress acted by revitalizing the False Claims Act. Today, Congress once again strengthened the False Claims Act, and brought that Act into the twenty-first century with passage of the Fraud Enforcement & Recovery Act of 2009...

THE MINNESOTA FALSE CLAIMS ACT IS SIGNED INTO LAW

Posted on May 16, 2009
We began the 2009 state legislative season with a list of states paying a federally mandated penalty for not having a false claims act. Today, I am happy to report that the Minnesota False Claims Act has been signed into law. Minnesota appears to be the only state passing a state-FCA this session, but that whittles the list of non-complying states down to 27...

State Qui Tam Legislative Updates

Posted on May 10, 2009
Sadly, as the last of the state legislative sessions wind down this month, it appears that we do have a single new state False Claims Act to report. Kansas appears to have passed a non-qui tam state statute, which can only be enforced by that state's OAG...

Important New Opinion from the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia Addresses the Seal Requirements of the Federal False Claims Act

Posted on May 05, 2009
An important new opinion issued today by the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia (Alexandria Division) discusses the mandatory disclosure and seal requirements of the Federal False Claims Act. The opinion can be found on Westlaw as United States ex rel...

Taxpayers Against Fraud Education Fund files Amicus Curiae Memorandum in Support of the Department of Justice's Motion to Dismiss in ACLU, et al. v. Eric Holder, et al., 1:09cv042

Posted on April 24, 2009
Today the Taxpayers Against Fraud Education Fund filed its motion and memorandum in support of the motion to dismiss filed by the United States Department of Justice. While I acted as local counsel in filing the brief, the real work of drafting TAFEF's position was handled by Cleveland Lawrence, Jeb White, and Marc Vezina...

Fools--or in this case, the Government Accountability Project, OMB Watch, and the ACLU--Rush In Where Angels Fear to Tread

Posted on April 17, 2009
A lawsuit currently pending in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia seeks to have most the Federal False Claims Act declared unconstitutional. The complaint for declaratory and injunctive relief was filed by the American Civil Liberties Union, OMB Watch, and the Government Accountability Project on January 15, 2009...

News from the Virginia Attorney General Race--Former Attorney General Jerry Kilgore Endorses John Brownlee for Attorney General in 2009

Posted on April 15, 2009
Former Virginia Attorney General Jerry Kilgore announced this morning that he has endorsed John Brownlee's bid to secure the Republican nomination for that post. Kilgore also announced that he has agreed to serve as General Chairman of Brownlee's campaign...

An Important and Groundbreaking New Fourth Circuit Opinion is Issued today in United States ex rel DRC v. Custer Battles, LLC, et al.

Posted on April 10, 2009
Today, the Fourth Circuit issued its opinion in the highly-publicized case U.S. ex rel. DRC, Inc., et al. v. Custer Battles, LLC, et al. The opinion is noteworthy for a number of reasons, not the least of which is that it provides the first Fourth Circuit interpretation of last year's Allison Engine opinion by SCOTUS...

On the Topic of Transportation Fraud....

Posted on April 04, 2009
Recently I mentioned state Sen. Obenschain's website addressing fraud, waste and abuse in the Virginia Department of Transportation. I wanted also to point out some excellent federal resources on the topic. For a number of years, the OIG (that is, the Office of the Inspector General) of the U...

Congressional Testimony in Support of the False Claims Correction Act of 2009

Posted on April 02, 2009
In the past two months, two House bills and two Senate bills have been introduced in an effort to strengthen the Federal False Claims Act. These bills respectively are: S. 386, "Fraud Enforcement and recovery Act of 2009," (Feb. 5, 2009); H.R...

A New Defense for Fraudfeasors Emerges from the Maryland Legislature: "Your Honor, I was just trying to create jobs."

Posted on March 30, 2009
As readers of this blog know, I have pushed heavily for a Maryland False Claims Act for the last two years. Both years, after much debate, a Maryland state FCA failed by a single vote in the state Senate. This year, however, the Senate chamber reached an all-new level of stupidity...

New Virginia Website Attempts to Expose VDOT Waste

Posted on March 25, 2009
An interesting new website by state Sen. Mark Obenshain has the goal of exposing waste, fraud and abuse in the Virginia Department of Transportation. No question about it, government spending always results in a certain level of fraud, waste, and abuse...

Qui Tam Practice Example: Use of the Virginia Fraud Against Taxpayers Act to Combat Fraud in State Grants

Posted on March 20, 2009
An article in yesterday's Lynchburg News and Advance provides a great chance to look at some potential uses of the Virginia Fraud Against Taxpayers Act by the Virginia Attorney General's Office. We will also examine how a qui tam relator could have come forward if the VFATA had existed at that time...

Yet Another Reminder About Attorney Fees Petitions

Posted on March 18, 2009
The Virginia Lawyer's Weekly blog has a post today relating to the use of the Laffey-Matrix in fee shifting cases. It is not clear whether the Laffey Matrix at issue is the real Laffey Matrix (that is, the one prepared by the U.S. Department of Justice's Civil Division) or the Laffey Matrix prepared by a private-sector expert economist...

Special Report on last week's "IRS Whistleblower Bootcamp"

Posted on March 11, 2009
I attended the first seminar on the new IRS Whistleblower statute last week, and found it very interesting indeed. The seminar was organized by Taxpayers Against Fraud, and featured presentations from the top officials from the newly-created IRS Whistleblower Office, along with top attorneys and accountants from the private sector...

William C. "Bill" Mims Formally Becomes Virginia's 45th Attorney General

Posted on February 27, 2009

News from the Race for Virginia Attorney General

Posted on February 18, 2009
Last night the three Republican candidates for Attorney General met in Roanoke for the second debate of this primary season. I followed the live blog feed, and even from the vantage point of someone reading the debates as blogged by someone else, it was apparent to me that all three candidates have honed their presentations and have focused on the best arguments for their candidacies such that all three are now stronger candidates than they were two months ago at the first debates...

Maryland False Claims Act Alert: Maryland Needs a Real False Claims Act!

Posted on February 09, 2009
With so many developments in the Virginia Office of the Attorney General and in the Attorney General race, I let some Maryland developments slip by the goalie. Specifically, Maryland Senate Bill 272, which is styled as the "Maryland False Health Claims Act of 2009" was introduced...

Breaking News: Virginia Attorney General Bob McDonell resigns to focus on his gubernatorial race

Posted on February 03, 2009
Attorney General Bob McDonnell announced his resignation this morning in an email to OAG staffers. No big surprise there--for the last thirty years, no Virginia Attorney General has served more than three years in office. Julian Walker at the PilotOnline has the story...

Eli Lilly May Spent $2 Billion More for Fraud on State Governments--But Again, Where is Virginia's Share?

Posted on January 30, 2009
Eli Lilly & Co., after agreeing to pay more than $2.6 billion to settle claims by the federal government and an assortment of state governments over the marketing of its anti-psychotic drug Zyprexa, still faces lawsuits that might cost the company an additional $2 billion...

Just One Example of Why the Office of the Attorney General is so Important

Posted on January 30, 2009
Given that the last few posts have concerned the OxyContin prosecutions led by Attorney General Bob McDonnell and former U.S. Attorney John Brownlee, today's OAG press release was perfect timing.Today, Virginia Attorney General Bob McDonnell awarded a small slice of the money Virginia recovered from Purdue Pharma...

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