False Claims Amendments Act: Groundbreaking or Ineffectual?
On July 26, 2021, a bipartisan group of senators, led by Sen. Charles E. Grassley (R-Iowa), introduced the False Claims Amendments Act of 2021, a bill that would amend the False Claims Act (FCA) in several ways.
Four key aims of the proposed legislation, detailed below, are to: (1) increase the burden on the defendant to rebut a plaintiff’s showing that a false claim was material; (2) provide a mechanism by which the government can seek reimbursement from parties for responding to burdensome discovery requests; (3) resolve a circuit split over the degree of deference courts should give the government in granting government motions to dismiss qui tam complaints; and (4) extend the whistleblower anti-retaliation protections to former employees, not just current employees. The proposed changes would apply not just to future FCA litigation, but also retroactively to any pending litigation. As noted below, however, the bill as currently drafted may have less practical effect on FCA cases than the sponsors intend.
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