U.S. ex rel. Escobar v. Universal Health Services, Inc.

Case Updates

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The U.S. Chamber filed an amicus brief urging the First Circuit to affirm a lower court’s dismissal of relators’ complaint against a healthcare company in a qui tam lawsuit. The Chamber’s amicus brief argued that the court should rigorously apply the False Claims Act’s (“FCA”) materiality and scienter requirements, which are critical to restraining the implied certification theory from subjecting the government’s contracting partners to the threat of punitive sanctions for even the most mundane regulatory violations. Further, the brief explained that these requirements further the goals of the FCA and help to weed out meritless qui tam actions. Finally, the brief argued that the evidence in this case that the government paid the defendant’s claims despite actual knowledge of contractual or regulatory violations is sufficient, but not necessary, to warrant a dismissal on the pleadings.

John P. Elwood, Craig D. Margolis, Jeremy C. Marwell, Tirzah S. Lollar, and Christian D. Sheehan of Vinson & Elkins LLP served as co-counsel for the U.S. Chamber of Commerce on behalf of the U.S. Chamber Litigation Center.