The Court has previously determined that the portion of the amended complaint that alleges claims arising out of the joint-venture agreements and the provision of free services to physicians will be dismissed for failure to comply with the pre-suit requirements of the False Claims Act. Defendant further contends that the original complaint did not contain any allegations concerning medical-director agreements, and that all claims based on such agreements should likewise be dismissed. Flanagan v. Fresenius Medical Care Holdings, Inc., No. Attorneys admitted Pro Hac Vice must have an individual upgraded PACER account, not a shared firm account, to electronically file in the District of Massachusetts. Instructions on how to link CM/ECF accounts to upgraded pacer account can be found at # https://www.mad.uscourts.gov/caseinfo/nextgen-current-pacer-accounts.htm#link-account. v. Fresenius Medical Care [$6,000,000.00] - San Diego Sexual Harassment Attorneys, Sexual Harassment Lawyers in San Diego, CA. Where the defendant allegedly caused a third party to submit a false claim to the government, rather than submitting the false claim itself, a more flexible standard applies, under which Rule 9(b) is satisfied by providing factual or statistical evidence to strengthen the inference of fraud beyond possibility without necessarily providing details as to each false claim submitted. U.S. ex rel. And even though the regulatory guidance defines the medicaldirector position as occupying 0.25 FTE, the complaint alleges that FMCNA neither tracked nor enforced medical directors' hours spent on duties to their clinics. 299 (Washington state) (All such claims . Essentially, that version of the complaint alleged that FMCNA's efforts to incentivize referrals to its clinics violated the Anti-Kickback Statute, 42 U.S.C. (Attachments: #1 Docket Sheet from District of Maryland, #2 Docket Entries 1-30, #3 Docket Entries 31-50, #4 Docket Entries 51-56, #5 Docket Entries 58-74) (Jones, Sherry) Modified on 10/7/2021 to correct docket text. The central issue is whether relator can sidestep the requirement to plead false claims with particularity by alleging that every single claim is necessarily false. 3/17/2023 8:35 PM. Furthermore, the defendants in that case were entities that at the time were not affiliated with FMCNA. 3729-33, provides for civil liability for anyone who knowingly presents, or causes to be presented, a false or fraudulent claim for payment or approval or knowingly makes, uses, or causes to be made or used, a false record or statement material to a false or fraudulent claim. 31 U.S.C. 1:20-CV-11927 | 2020-10-26, U.S. District Courts | Other | The qui tam action at issue was United States ex rel. . at 253. 3730(b)(2), (b)(4), (c)(1). 111-148, 10104(j)(2), 124 Stat. (Attachments: #1 Affidavit Certificate of Jamie Bennett in Support of Motion for Appearance Pro Hac Vice)(Sullivan, Christopher) (Entered: 11/22/2021), Docket(#13) MOTION for Leave to Appear Pro Hac Vice for admission of W Scott Simmer Filing fee: $ 100, receipt number AMADC-9065559 by Martin Flanagan. Under Rule 9(b), the standard for allegations of fraud is higher than the normal pleading standard. . (Attachments: #1 Affidavit Certificate of W. Scott Simmer in Support of Motion for Admission Pro Hac Vice)(Sullivan, Christopher) (Entered: 11/22/2021), (#11) Chief Judge F. Dennis Saylor, IV: ELECTRONIC ORDER entered granting #6 Motion for Leave to Appear Pro Hac Vice Added James F. Bennett. To begin, it appears-although the complaint is ambiguous at times-that the Medicare claims at issue were submitted to the federal government by FMCNA itself, and that the Medicaid claims were submitted by various state government agencies based on claims that FMCNA submitted to those agencies.As to the Medicare claims, therefore, the complaint must be evaluated according to the ordinary standard applicable in False Claims Act cases, not the more flexible standard applicable where the defendant allegedly caused a third party to submit false claims. Instead, those services were provided free of charge. (Attachments: #1 Affidavit Certificate of Noah M. Rich in Support of Motion for Appearance Pro Hac Vice)(Sullivan, Christopher) (Entered: 11/22/2021), Docket(#16) Chief Judge F. Dennis Saylor, IV: ELECTRONIC ORDER entered granting #14 Motion for Leave to Appear Pro Hac Vice Added Jamie Bennett. ESRD expenditures by Medicare exceed $40 billion annually. (Finn, Mary) (Entered: 10/05/2021). 3729(a)(1)(A) (Count 1); making or using false records material to a false or fraudulent claim in violation of the False Claims Act, 31 U.S.C. Martin Flanagan | Book Depository (Id.). (Id. Fresenius Medical Care Holdings, Inc., 1:14-cv-00665 Brought to you by the RECAP Initiative and Free Law Project, a non-profit dedicated to creating high quality Rule 9(b) may be satisfied where, although some questions remain unanswered, the complaint as a whole is sufficiently particular to pass muster under the FCA. U.S. ex rel. . After a review of the claims, the government declined to intervene. Moreover, the CKD complaint alleged that the scheme was nationwide. The statute defines original source as an individual who, [1] prior to a public disclosure . 142-43). 01 Oct 2018. The False Claims Act, 31 U.S.C. . Under the circumstances, the Court concludes that the bar does not apply. 19). Lutz v. United States, 853 F.3d 131, 135 (4th Cir. The Line: A Man's Experience; A Son's Quest to Understand. 256-69 (IMN and other practices in Indiana); id. 332-36). (Id. Make your practice more effective and efficient with Casetexts legal research suite. (Id.). Finally, the complaint alleges that FMCNA entered into joint-venture agreements with physicians in order to induce referrals to the joint-venture clinic. The government can intervene in a qui tam action and assume primary responsibility over it. Care Holdings, Inc., 906 F.Supp.2d 1264, 1274 (N.D.Ga. 2016). On February 5, 2021 a long-time former Fresenius Medical Care North America (Fresenius) employee, Martin Flanagan, filed a qui tam relator amended complaint (Complaint) against Fresenius alleging that the company had entered into arrangements with hospitals and physicians in order to secure dialysis patient referrals for Fresenius outpatient dialysis clinics, and that such arrangements violated the Federal False Claims Act (FCA) and the Federal Anti-Kickback Statute (AKS).