University of Miami Must Face False Claims Act Retaliation Suit

A former chief operations officer at the University of Miami Health System adequately alleged that the university violated the False Claims Act by firing him for raising concerns about Medicare billing practices, a Florida district court said.

Jonathan Lord’s complaint sufficiently asserted that he had an objectively reasonable belief that the university was billing Medicare for medically unnecessary organ transplant pathology testing, and that he took steps to stop FCA violations, Chief Judge Cecilia M. Altonaga of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida said Tuesday.

Lord properly alleged that the university knew about his protected activity ...