The Ninth Circuit in Rose Prunes the Thorns from Escobar’s Rigorous and Demanding Materiality Requirement
On August 24, 2018, the Ninth Circuit issued a long-anticipated False Claims Act (FCA) opinion (U.S. ex rel. Rose v. Stephens, No. 17-15111, 2018 WL 4038194 (9th Cir. Aug. 24, 2018)), weighing in on how to apply the implied false certification theory and the materiality requirement in the wake of the Supreme Court’s Escobar decision from two years ago (Univ. Health Servs., Inc. v. United States, 136 S. Ct. 1989 (2016) (Escobar)). The court’s ruling narrowed the application of the implied false certification theory, but provided a generous interpretation of the materiality standard, making it a mixed bag for defendants.
