“Expert” Analyzing FOIA Report Barred as Public Disclosure

A federal district judge in the Northern District of California dismissed a qui tam suit in late 2020 under the public disclosure bar of the False Claims Act (“FCA”). United States ex rel. Jones v. Sutter Health, No. 18-CV-02067-LHK, 2020 WL 6544412, at 9 (N.D. Cal. Nov. 6, 2020). In a holding consistent with the Supreme Court’s application of the public disclosure bar, and as has been discussed in previous McGuireWoods alerts, the district court held that information acquired through a Freedom of Information Act (“FOIA”) report is “publicly disclosed” and, therefore, that the relator was barred from using this information to form the basis of her FCA action.

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• McGuire Woods: “Expert” Analyzing FOIA Report Barred as Public Disclosure