Senate Bill Could Undermine Key FCA Defenses

In a move that threatens to undermine some key defenses to liability under the False Claims Act, a bipartisan group of senators voted to advance the False Claims Amendments Act of 2021 (SB 2428) out of the Senate Judiciary Committee, paving the way for a vote by the full Senate. The proposed amendments, though spanning barely two pages, would significantly alter the landscape of FCA litigation and liability. They would:

• Change the statutory definition of “materiality.”
• Burden defendants with the costs of taking discovery from a government agency in non-intervened qui tam cases unless they can “demonstrate that the information sought is relevant and proportionate to the needs of the case.”
• Make it more difficult for the government to obtain dismissal of a qui tam action over the relator’s objections.
• Expand the scope of anti-retaliation protections to former employees.

Source:

• Morgan Lewis: Senate Bill Could Undermine Key FCA Defenses