Allergan Whistleblower’s Fraud Suit Survives Disclosure Argument

Allergan Inc. must continue to face a whistleblower suit alleging it engaged in a kickback scheme to provide surgeons with free advertising in exchange for purchases of Lap-Band devices used to treat obesity, a federal district court said.

The company failed to show that Matthew Fitzer’s claims are precluded by the False Claims Act’s public disclosure bar, which prevents suits that are based on information already in the public domain, Judge Stephanie A. Gallagher of the US District Court for the District of Maryland said in an opinion made public Thursday. The decision was announced in a May 15 order ...