Insights
Carolyn Kendall Examines Third Circuit Decision That Acknowledges Validity of Government Knowledge Inference Defense in an Article for Law360
In a January 3, 2018 article for Law360, Carolyn H. Kendall and a co-author provide an analysis of a November 2017 Third Circuit decision in which the court adopted the government knowledge inference defense, thereby offering False Claims Act (FCA) defendants in the circuit another weapon in their arsenal of defenses to obtain dismissal of FCA claims.
The authors note:
"...the Third Circuit ended a long-fought False Claims Act case of alleged Medicare Part D fraud, holding that a pharmacy benefit manager’s (PBM’s) limited noncompliance with pharmacy claims processing requirements was not material to Medicare’s payment decisions within the meaning of the U.S. Supreme Court’s Escobar decision. The Third Circuit’s affirmation of the district court’s summary judgment dismissal...relied heavily on evidence that the government was aware that the alleged noncompliance was an industry practice, even though the government may not have been aware of the specific PBM’s alleged noncompliance."