ACLJ Files Appeal Brief in Federal Appeals Court in Massive Fraud Case Against Planned Parenthood Affiliates in CA

This week in the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, the ACLJ filed an opening appeal brief in a multi-million dollar fraud case against Planned Parenthood (PP) affiliates in California. We are representing a former employee of the PP affiliate in Los Angeles, who is now a federal whistleblower. A federal district court in California had dismissed the case, and we are seeking to have the lawsuit reinstated.

The federal False Claims Act (FCA) forbids government contractors from submitting false or fraudulent claims for payment. The FCA also authorizes private individuals to bring suit against the offenders to recover the fraudulently obtained funds.

The allegation in this case is that PP affiliates in California illegally marked up the supposed cost of various birth control drugs when seeking government reimbursement, resulting in tens of millions of dollars of overbilling at taxpayer expense.  No one should be permitted to scam the public treasury for profit.  The FCA was designed to remedy such illegal runs on taxpayer money.

When the former PP staffer sued the PP affiliates in federal court, charging the defendants with having fraudulently overbilled the state and federal governments in the amount of tens of millions of dollars, the prominent law firm of Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP began representing the PP defendants in the case for free. The Skadden attorneys asked the federal district court to dismiss the case on technical jurisdictional grounds.

The federal district court accepted the Skadden arguments in part, and dismissed the case. Our attorneys then entered the case to handle the appeal.  The basic question at this point is whether the former PP employee is a proper whistleblower under the False Claims Act, and the answer is Yes.  Our brief dissects and refutes the arguments of PPs attorneys point by point, explaining why the court of appeals should reverse the lower courts judgment and reinstate the lawsuit.

There will be another round of briefs due in September.  Oral arguments will follow.  This case may well end up at the Supreme Court.  Well keep you updated as it progresses.