Supreme Court Revives Abbott Whistleblower’s False Claims Suit

The US Supreme Court revived Friday a whistleblower’s False Claims Act suit alleging that Abbott Laboratories Inc., Arriva Medical LLC, and Alere Inc. improperly billed Medicare for diabetic testing supplies.

The Court granted the whistleblower’s petition for writ of certiorari, vacated the judgment of the US Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit, and remanded the case to that appeals court.

This decision follows the Supreme Court’s June 1 opinion in United States ex rel. Schutte v. SuperValu Inc., which said the scienter element under the FCA can be established if a defendant believes its claims are false. ...