Skilled nursing companies found liable for overbilling Medicare say the Eleventh Circuit should recognize that a whistleblower’s lawsuit funding deal negates her recent False Claims Act damages victory.
Angela Ruckh’s $4 million agreement with a private litigation funding entity forfeited her standing to pursue claims in the government’s name, and requires dismissal of the suit altogether, the defendants told the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit in a petition for rehearing en banc.
The FCA expressly prohibits assignment of government claims to third parties who don’t qualify as whistleblowers, the defendants said.
The court’s conclusion that Ruckh retained ...