DOJ Official Comments on Brand and Granston Memos
During remarks at the Federal Bar Association Qui Tam Conference, Stephen Cox, Deputy Associate Attorney General, discussed the Brand and Granston Memos, which directed DOJ to cease using guidance documents to establish violations of law in civil enforcement actions and authorized prosecutors to consider seeking dismissal of FCA actions in which the government had not intervened, respectively.
In his comments on the Brand memo, Cox clarified that while noncompliance with a guidance document alone would not support an enforcement action, it might demonstrate knowledge or scienter. In relation to the Granston memo, Cox noted that government expends significant resources monitoring qui tam cases even when it decides not to intervene, and therefore dismissal may sometimes be in the government’s best interests.
