DOJ Adopts Brand Memo as Departmentwide Policy
The United States Department of Justice (DOJ) recently updated its Justice Manual and formalized the policies it had previously announced regarding reliance on subregulatory guidance in enforcement actions. (more…)
Recent DOJ Settlements Reflect Post-Yates Trend in Holding Individuals Financially Accountable
In the wake of the Yates memo eighteen months ago, DOJ offered an early signal that its commitment to focus more on individual accountability would have bite: alongside a $125 million settlement with Warner Chilcott, DOJ also indicted the former president of the company’s pharmaceutical division for conspiring to violate the Anti-Kickback Statute (discussed here). Since then, the government suffered a speedy loss at his trial, and DOJ’s focus on individuals has not always been so overt. However, two recent settlements highlight the imprint of the Yates memo, and in particular, a new trend of DOJ holding owners of closely held companies personally liable for FCA settlements.
House Judiciary Committee Holds Hearing on Oversight of the False Claims Act
Last Thursday one of the subcommittees of the House Judiciary Committee held a hearing on Oversight of the False Claims Act. Four stakeholders represented the diverse viewpoints of the plaintiffs’ bar, a compliance program reform initiative, the defense bar, and in-house counsel (copies of their prepared written testimony can be found here, here, here, and here).
Active Supreme Court Bench Probes Scope of “Fraudulent” Claims
As we have discussed here and here, yesterday the Supreme Court heard oral arguments in Universal Health Services v. United States ex rel. Escobar, which presents questions over the viability and scope of the implied certification theory. The justices actively questioned the advocates, raising concerns over whether the position of the government and the respondents (“Escobar”) contains logical limitations, and pressing the petitioner (defendant Universal Health Services (“UHS”)) over whether the limitations it proposes truly are consistent with common understandings of fraud.
District Court Holds that First Amendment Bars Prosecution for Misbranding Where Conduct is Truthful, Non-Misleading Speech about Off-Label Uses, Declines to Rule on Potential FCA Liability
On August 7, in the first Caronia progeny case, the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York (Engelmayer, J.) granted preliminary relief to Amarin Pharma, Inc. (“Amarin”) in a highly significant case involving First Amendment limitations on the Government’s entitlement to bring misbranding charges based on manufacturers’ truthful, non-misleading speech about off-label uses of drugs. See Amarin Pharma Inc. v. Food and Drug Admin., No. 1:15-cv-03588 (S.D.N.Y. Aug. 7, 2015).