DOJ Announces Reinvigorated False Claims Act Cooperation with the Department of Health and Human Services
On July 2, 2025, the U.S. Department of Justice (“DOJ”) announced the renewal of the DOJ-HHS False Claims Act Working Group, a partnership with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (“HHS”) that aims to strengthen use of the FCA to combat healthcare fraud. This is an initiative that was first announced during the first Trump administration, and follows the announcement of significant personnel changes at DOJ, as discussed here.
DOJ Continues to Leverage Polansky in Seeking (c)(2)(A) Dismissals
As discussed here, there is new leadership at DOJ and last week we got insight into when DOJ is moved to exercise its dismissal authority under 31 U.S.C. § 3730(c)(2)(A). In March, DOJ moved to dismiss the relator’s FCA case in United States ex rel. Vermont National Telephone Co. v. Northstar Wireless LLC. The district court referred the motion to a magistrate judge and the magistrate recommended that the district court grant DOJ’s motion. The magistrate’s recommendation was grounded in the Supreme Court’s decision in United States ex rel. Polansky v. Executive Health Resources (previously covered here), which holds that DOJ is entitled to substantial deference in seeking dismissal of qui tam actions when it offers reasonable arguments that the burdens of continued litigation outweigh its benefits. The relator objected to the magistrate’s decision and, on June 25, DOJ filed its response (the “Response”).
First Court of Appeals to Apply Polansky Upholds DOJ’s Dismissal
The Eleventh Circuit recently became the first Court of Appeals to apply the Supreme Court’s decision in United States ex rel. Polansky v. Executive Health Resources, Inc., 143 S. Ct. 1720 (2023), when it affirmed a district court’s decision to grant DOJ’s motion to dismiss a qui tam suit over a relator’s objections. In Polansky, which we analyzed in detail here, the Supreme Court held that the United States may move to dismiss under 31 U.S.C. § 3730(c)(2)(A) regardless of when it intervened in the case and that courts should review any such motion under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 41(a). The Eleventh Circuit’s decision underscores the United States’ broad dismissal power in False Claims Act cases.
Supreme Court Affirms Broad DOJ Dismissal Authority
On June 16, 2023, the Supreme Court issued its opinion in United States ex rel. Polansky v. Executive Health Resources, affirming that courts should grant DOJ motions to dismiss over relator objections “in all but the most exceptional cases.”
