Litigation | The Qui Tam Team Blog

You are here: Home » News » Litigation

30Jun/100

Crankin’up the HEAT

HEAT is the rather odd acronym for the Health Care Fraud Prevention and Enforcement Action Team. It is the brainchild of Attorney General Holder and Health and Human Services Secretary Sebelius, and despite the great stretches of the imagination it takes to make it work as an acronym (HCFPEAT doesn't exactly roll off the tongue), it seems to be taking a bite out of health care fraud.

HEAT is a coordinated effort between DOJ and HHS, and it has a Medicare Fraud Strike Force that has been going around various cities busting health care fraud perps. It's operating in various locations, including South Florida, but no, you are not likely to see Attorney General Holder wearing a Miami Vice suit and driving a go-fast boat into a medical center.

In recent testimony given before the House Ways and Means Subcommittee on Health and Oversight, Edward Siskel, the Associate Deputy Attorney General, stated that since May 2009, the Strike Force has been putting fear in the hearts of health care fraudsters. Strike Force prosecutors have filed over 120 cases charging more than 290 defendants and have obtained 16 convictions. The Strike Force also appears to have had a deterrent effect. In the twelve months since the Strike Force was announced, the Miami area has seen an almost $2 billion reduction in durable medical equipment submissions compared to the preceding 12 month period.

Deputy AG Siskel also notes in his testimony statistics all too familiar to qui tamers: the bulk of the DOJ's civil case load comprises suits against drug and medical device makers. Qui tam suits have proved to be an important weapon in the DOJ's fraud-fighting arsenal, and have helped the government to recover $24 billion since 1986. This goes to show that the civil justice system is just as important as the swaggering Task Force in the fight against health care fraud.

This article is brought to you by the QTT, the epicenter for whistleblowers and people interested in the False Claims Act, Qui Tam Provisions, and Medicare and Medicaid fraud. To discuss a potential case, please call Eric Young at 1 (800) 590-4116.

Tagged as: False Claims Act, FCA, fraud, government, health care, medicaid, medicare, Pharmaceutical, qui tam No Comments

25Jun/100

False Marking Suit Against Solo Cup Lid Maker is a Bust

The patent attorney who brought a qui tam suit against the maker of Solo cup lids has failed in his quest to collect trillions of dollars in fines. We blogged previously about patent lawyer Matthew Pequignot's suit against Solo based on the qui tam provision of the patent law which allows citizens to sue companies that deceive the public with false or expired patent markings on their products.

Pequignot was claiming $500 per violation, and considering the vast number of Solo lids in existence--21,757,893,672 (you may even be slobbering all over one right now)--the fines would have produced an award for the United States of $5.4 trillion—enough to pay 42% of the national debt. Where Solo would have gotten its hands on this kind of cash is anyone's guess. What Pequignot would have done with his trillions is also unknown. He could have purchased several muncipalities, or even a few states, and started his own patent-ocracy.

The court found that Pequignot failed to prove that Solo intended to deceive the public with its expired patent mark. Intent can be very difficult to prove in lawsuits generally, and it doesn't help that a lot of products are stamped with expired patents simply because the manufacturer is too lazy or cheap to change the molds or machining.

In Solo's case, it appears that the company did not change its molds based on cost-saving. A Solo cup mold produces a lid every four to six seconds, and goes on doing this for 20 years or more. Based on advice from an attorney, Solo instituted a policy whereby replacement molds would not include the expired patent number. However, the molds were only to be replaced when the old mold became damaged or wore out. This helps to explain why there were/are so many Solo lids floating around out there with the expired patent marking.

The general consensus is that the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit's ruling will put a damper on future suits aimed at getting big money for false marking. But with the number of old molds constantly stamping away out there, we'll see.

Tagged as: government, qui tam No Comments

18Jun/100

Whistleblower in a Coal Mine

Remember the story of the miners who died in the West Virginia coal mine before the story was overshadowed by the latest fossil fuel debacle? Well, a whistleblower has filed a federal whistleblower complaint claiming that Massey fired him in retaliation for pointing out safety violations at mines in West Virginia--including the one in which an explosion occurred on April 5th, killing 29 miners. The whistleblower, Ricky Lee Campbell, is a sort of coal-dusted Cassandra.

Campbell filed a complaint with the Labor Department alleging that he was fired for his role in the federal investigation as well as for safety complaints he made to mine management. Federal administrative law Judge L. Zane Gill agreed with Campbell, stating that there was "substantial evidence to support a reasonable cause to believe" that Campbell's complaints led to his firing. The administrative law judge ordered Massey to temporarily reinstate Campbell, and the ball is now in the Labor Department's court to file a complaint seeking permanent reinstatement.

The harsh world of mining seems to lend itself to a wide array of egregious violations. If you're still fired up about mines, here's a shameless plug for the film North Country, which is the semi-fictionalized story of a group of women who had the guts to stand up to a mining corporation and bring a sex discrimination lawsuit despite outrageous threats and harassment. The lawsuit at the center of the film is based on Jenson v. Eveleth Taconite Co. The case was filed in 1988 on behalf of Lois Jensen and other female workers at EVTAC mine in Eveleth, Minnesota. Jensen began working at the mine in 1975 and endured outrageous sexual harassment. She quit working at the mine in 1992, and was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder shortly thereafter. It wasn't until 1998, when another trial was set to begin following years of protracted litigation, that the company settled with 15 female plaintiffs for $3.5 million.

Both the Massey mine situation as well as the Eveleth sexual harassment suit illustrate that even in harsh, remote environments such as mines, concerned individuals can make a difference by letting their voices be heard. No matter how far underground you may be, there is always a path to the courtroom.

Tagged as: government, Mining, Natural resources, whistleblower No Comments

Older Entries »