Lager v. CSL Behring, No. 16-1452 (8th Cir. 2017)
Annotate this CaseThe Eighth Circuit affirmed the dismissal of relator's False Claims Act (FCA), 31 U.S.C. 3729 et seq., suit based on the public disclosure bar. Relator alleged that CSL Behring conspired with pharmacies to submit false claims to the United States for reimbursement for prescription drugs. The Eighth Circuit concluded that, viewed collectively, the public disclosures provided enough information about the participants in the scheme to directly identify the defendants and the subject drugs; the disclosures would have set the government squarely on the trail of the defendants' participation in the purported fraudulent reporting; and the essential elements of relator's claims -- the purported fraud -- were publicly disclosed prior to him filing suit.
Court Description: Smith, Author, with Wollman, Circuit Judge, and Wright, District Judge] Civil case - False Claims Act. The district court did not err in dismissing this FCA suit based on the Act's public disclosure bar, 31 U.S.C. Section 3730(e)(4)(A); viewed collectively, the public disclosures provided enough information about the participants in the scheme to directly identify the defendants and the subject drugs and "set the government squarely on the trail" of the defendants' participation in the purported fraudulent reporting of prices for DME infusion drugs; the information thus met the first prong of the public disclosure bar by identifying the defendants in the case; second, the information was sufficient to show defendants' fraudulent activity and thus the second prong of the public disclosure bar - identification of the subject matter of the fraud - was also met.
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