We remember the onset of the pandemic all too well. Not only were the health concerns and consequences for the United States real and profound, but measures to protect the health of the population risked extreme economic consequences. Congress acted swiftly to prevent the worst consequences, appropriating $2.2 trillion within weeks through the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act. Through supplements, this number ultimately ballooned to over $5 trillion.
Unlike standard civil litigation in federal courts where service of process is dictated entirely by the Federal Rules ofCivil Procedure, the Second Circuit recently held that thejudge assigned to a False Claims Act (“FCA”) case mustset and start the timer on when a qui tam complaint canbe served on a defendant.1 Relators and defendants alikemust consider a number of strategic options when thejudge fails to turn on that timer.
Not even three months into the new year, the Department of Justice has announced three new pilot whistleblower programs that meaningfully incentivize whistleblowers to come forward and bring new information to the government’s attention.
The Supreme Court and several Circuits have issued, or will soon issue, decisions that have significant implications on how to interpret and apply the False Claims Act, the primary litigation tool for combating government fraud. Further, insofar as these decisions address scienter and damage causation, they likely will have impact on other types of fraud cases.
The Supreme Court and several Circuits have issued, or will soon issue, decisions that have significant implications on how to interpret and apply the False Claims Act, the primary litigation tool for combating government fraud. Further, insofar as these decisions address scienter and damage causation, they likely will have impact on other types of fraud cases.
Cap-and-trade fraudsters should be on notice: the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) wants to address market manipulation in the voluntary carbon credit markets, and they want help from whistleblowers to do it. Earlier this week, the CFTC issued an alert inviting the public to provide tips to the agency about “fraud or manipulation in the carbon markets.”
Going green in more ways than one, New York recently began accepting the first applications for retail and other licenses for the state's legal marijuana market, authorized by the Marijuana Regulation and Taxation Act.
Earlier this year, the U.S. Supreme Court in West Virginia v. EPA ruled that the Clean Air Act does not authorize the EPA to require a systematic shift to cleaner sources of electricity generation. Many fear this decision will be devastating to the agency’s and the executive branch’s ability to move the U.S. away from carbon-intensive energy sources and toward cleaner resources to address climate change in the accelerated timeline necessary to avoid its worst impacts.
Oftentimes, politics in Washington can start to feel predictable. But for those who care about addressing climate change, last week the Senate produced an unexpected bombshell worthy of a season finale.
The Paycheck Protection Program, or PPP, was supposed to protect small businesses without access to other sources of capital or debt facing completely unprecedented disruptions of their operations and the livelihoods of their employees.
Markus v. Aerojet RocketDyne Holdings Inc. settled in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California. The case involved a whistleblower who claimed his former employer lied about compliance with cybersecurity requirements in order to win government contracts. This was the first case of its kind to survive a motion to dismiss, proceeding to discovery and then trial.
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