Second Circuit Finds that Violations of the FCA’s First-to-File Bar Cannot Be Cured Through Amended Pleadings, Deepening Circuit Split

In August 2018, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit held that a violation of the False Claims Act first-to-file bar cannot be cured by filing an amended complaint after the first-filed related action is no longer pending. The Court’s decision in United States ex rel. Wood v Allergan, Inc., which reversed a decision of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, deepens an already existing circuit split on this issue. Although the U.S. Supreme Court declined to resolve the circuit split earlier this year, the Wood decision may well lead to a future grant of certiorari to clarify the scope of the FCA’s first-to-file bar.

Read the full post at Saul Ewing Arnstein & Lehr via JD Supra