Illinois Supreme Court Broadly Construes Relators’ Standing under the Illinois Insurance Claims Fraud Prevention Act
On November 19, 2020, the Illinois Supreme Court issued an opinion broadly construing relators’ standing to sue under the Illinois Insurance Claims Fraud Prevention Act (“Act”) (740 ILCS 92/1 et seq.). The Act is similar to the Illinois False Claims Act, but allows private citizens (“interested persons”) to sue on behalf of the State to remedy alleged fraud against private insurers. As with the Illinois False Claims Act, the State retains ultimate control over the litigation under the Act whether or not it intervenes, but the relator is entitled to a portion of the proceeds of any settlement or judgment if the litigation succeeds.
The Illinois False Claims Act: Key Provisions and Current Trends
On August 23, 2019, Bloomberg Law published an article by Kathleen Carlson and Suzanne Notton of Sidley Austin discussing key provisions of the Illinois False Claims Act and recent trends in Illinois False Claims Act case law. This article is the first in a series of articles addressing the False Claims Acts of states that see relatively frequent state FCA lawsuits. In addition to Illinois, these states include California, Florida, Massachusetts, and New York. A copy of the article can be downloaded here.
Recent Illinois Appellate Court Decision Applies Narrow Interpretation of Public Disclosure Bar
In a recent decision, the First District of the Illinois Appellate Court reversed the dismissal of a complaint brought pursuant to the Illinois False Claims Act (the “IFCA”). The circuit court had held that relators satisfied the public disclosure bar because their claims were not substantially the same as publicly disclosed allegations or transactions, but that relators had failed to plead their claim with specificity. The First District agreed with the circuit court’s ruling regarding the public disclosure bar, but found that the circuit court had erred in holding that relators had failed to state a claim. This decision is the third Illinois Appellate Court decision in the last thirteen months reversing dismissals of IFCA actions (see People ex rel. Lindblom v. Sears Brands, LLC et al., No. 1-17-1468 (Ill. App. Ct), and Phone Recovery Services of Illinois, LLC ex rel. State of Illinois v. Ameritech Illinois Metro, Inc. et al., No. 1-17-0968 (Ill. App. Ct.)), and the language used by the court reflects a high threshold for dismissal.