Wait a Minute—No Escobar Materiality as to Hospital’s Patient Arrival Time Reports and Employee Handbooks
Last week, the Tenth Circuit, in a detailed analysis of the False Claims Act’s materiality requirement, affirmed the grant of summary judgment to a hospital accused of misreporting patient arrival times and falsely certifying that its employee handbooks discussed the FCA. Putting Escobar to work, the court found no materiality despite evidence that could show the hospital knowingly reported false patient arrival times and signed certifications without basis. Key to the court’s analysis was that the government had investigated relator’s allegations and “has done nothing in response.” United States ex rel. Janssen v. Lawrence Memorial Hospital, No. 19-3011, 2020 WL 594508, at *6 (10th Cir. Feb. 7, 2020).
