Ex-PeaceHealth Employee’s FCA Retaliation Claim Headed to Trial

PeaceHealth defeated claims it illegally retaliated against one of its former workers but will still have to face similar allegations from another of its ex-employees, a federal judge said.

PeaceHealth was denied summary judgment on Jessica Brunelle’s False Claims Act, on Washington laws against discrimination, and other state law claims, Judge Tiffany M. Carwright, of the US District Court for the Western District of Washington, said in an Oct. 18 order. Cartwright ruled that Brunelle raised sufficient questions of material fact that need to be evaluated by a jury.

But co-plaintiff Jonathan Adelstein failed to allege that he was fired ...