Biotronik Must Again Defend Against Whistleblower’s Fraud Suit

Biotronik Inc. will again face a whistleblower suit alleging that the cardiac device company defrauded Medicare by engaging in a kickback scheme, the Ninth Circuit said Wednesday.

A California federal district court erred in concluding that the False Claims Act’s public disclosure bar precluded the suit, Judge Morgan Christen of the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit said in an opinion to reverse and remand. The bar requires dismissal of a suit where a whistleblower alleges fraud that a news article, government report, or hearing already made public.

The lower court said whistleblower Sam Jones Company LLC’s claims ...