What Do You “Know"? Supreme Court Provides Guidance on False Claims Act Defense
July 11, 2023
When selling goods and services to the federal government, contractors should be concerned with potential allegations of violations of the False Claims Act (FCA). While FCA allegations and potential defenses can be daunting, legal decisions provide guidance to companies trying to understand and navigate a resolution to the often complex issues. This year, for the first time in recent history, the U.S. Supreme Court agreed to decide not one, but two FCA cases in a single term. The Court issued its first decision on June 1 where it rejected a FCA defense based on “objective reasonableness,” but still gave teeth to the statute’s knowledge requirement. In welcomed news for potential FCA defendants, in the second decision, the Court found that the government has broad discretion to seek to dismiss a case filed by a whistleblower at any time during the litigation.
How do these decisions impact you and your company? Please join Forvis Mazars’ Bill Walter and his special guest Tirzah Lollar, a Partner with Arnold & Porter, as they discuss the nuances of the Court’s ruling and how they can help hone defenses in future FCA cases.
Learning Objectives
Upon completion of this program, participants will be able to:
- Understand the FCA and some of the risks may impact companies that do business with the federal government
- Find out why the court rejected an “objective reasonableness” defense and strengthened the FCA knowledge requirement
- Discuss the Court’s determination that the government has broad authority to dismiss a whistleblower case and what this means for companies
- Provide an overview of other FCA developments directly relevant to your company’s compliance and risk profile
Presenters
Bill Walter, Tirzah Lollar, Arnold Porter