For the Defense - Volume 2, Issue 4 - 2017 - 11

United States ex
rel. Petratos v.
Genentech Inc. -
The Third Circuit Embraces A
Rigorous Pleading Standard for
Materiality In False Claims Act
Suits, But Leaves Healthcare
Industry Defendants Vulnerable
On Medicare Claims
Lawrence S. Lustberg and Amanda B. Protess

W

hen the United States Supreme Court
last year announced a "demanding"
standard for pleading materiality in
False Claims Act1 ("FCA") suits,2 the defense bar
wondered how strictly federal courts would
interpret this mandate.3 This spring, litigants
learned that the Third Circuit Court of Appeals is
prepared to fully implement that requirement.
In May 2017, the Third Circuit issued its first
reported opinion interpreting the Supreme
Court's decision in United States ex rel. Petratos v.
Genentech, Inc. There, the panel dismissed a FCA
suit at the pleading stage because the complaint
failed to allege that anything the defendant
pharmaceutical company did or failed to do would
have affected Medicare's decision to pay for the
company's cancer drug.4 This opinion, along with
others like it in the federal courts,5 suggests a
turn in the tide of FCA litigation, which has, for
the last three decades, served as such a significant
means of recovering losses to the U.S. Treasury
stemming from fraud in government programs
and contracts. That said, one aspect of the Petratos
opinion specific to the healthcare industry raises
more questions than it answers. Because the case
involved government payments under Medicare,
the Court of Appeals was required to grapple with
Vol. 2, Issue 4 | For The Defense

11



Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of For the Defense - Volume 2, Issue 4 - 2017

Table of Contents
Commonwealth v. Jerome King and Beyond: Trial Counsel’s Obligation to Cooperate with an Ineffective Assistance of Counsel Claim
United States ex rel. Petratos v. Genentech Inc. – The Third Circuit Embraces A Rigorous Pleading Standard for Materiality In False Claims Act Suits, But Leaves Healthcare Industry Defendants Vulnerable On Medicare Claims
Changes in the DUI Landscape: Acts 33 and 30
Police Misconduct Resulting in Arrest: Weighing the Options
Dying with Dignity: Compassionate Release in Pennsylvania
Amicus Matters
Attorney Discipline
Finding the Hidden Data in Technology to Defend Your Client
For the Defense - Volume 2, Issue 4 - 2017 - 1
For the Defense - Volume 2, Issue 4 - 2017 - 2
For the Defense - Volume 2, Issue 4 - 2017 - Table of Contents
For the Defense - Volume 2, Issue 4 - 2017 - 4
For the Defense - Volume 2, Issue 4 - 2017 - Commonwealth v. Jerome King and Beyond: Trial Counsel’s Obligation to Cooperate with an Ineffective Assistance of Counsel Claim
For the Defense - Volume 2, Issue 4 - 2017 - 6
For the Defense - Volume 2, Issue 4 - 2017 - 7
For the Defense - Volume 2, Issue 4 - 2017 - 8
For the Defense - Volume 2, Issue 4 - 2017 - 9
For the Defense - Volume 2, Issue 4 - 2017 - 10
For the Defense - Volume 2, Issue 4 - 2017 - United States ex rel. Petratos v. Genentech Inc. – The Third Circuit Embraces A Rigorous Pleading Standard for Materiality In False Claims Act Suits, But Leaves Healthcare Industry Defendants Vulnerable On Medicare Claims
For the Defense - Volume 2, Issue 4 - 2017 - 12
For the Defense - Volume 2, Issue 4 - 2017 - 13
For the Defense - Volume 2, Issue 4 - 2017 - 14
For the Defense - Volume 2, Issue 4 - 2017 - 15
For the Defense - Volume 2, Issue 4 - 2017 - 16
For the Defense - Volume 2, Issue 4 - 2017 - 17
For the Defense - Volume 2, Issue 4 - 2017 - Changes in the DUI Landscape: Acts 33 and 30
For the Defense - Volume 2, Issue 4 - 2017 - 19
For the Defense - Volume 2, Issue 4 - 2017 - 20
For the Defense - Volume 2, Issue 4 - 2017 - 21
For the Defense - Volume 2, Issue 4 - 2017 - Police Misconduct Resulting in Arrest: Weighing the Options
For the Defense - Volume 2, Issue 4 - 2017 - 23
For the Defense - Volume 2, Issue 4 - 2017 - 24
For the Defense - Volume 2, Issue 4 - 2017 - 25
For the Defense - Volume 2, Issue 4 - 2017 - 26
For the Defense - Volume 2, Issue 4 - 2017 - 27
For the Defense - Volume 2, Issue 4 - 2017 - 28
For the Defense - Volume 2, Issue 4 - 2017 - Dying with Dignity: Compassionate Release in Pennsylvania
For the Defense - Volume 2, Issue 4 - 2017 - 30
For the Defense - Volume 2, Issue 4 - 2017 - 31
For the Defense - Volume 2, Issue 4 - 2017 - 32
For the Defense - Volume 2, Issue 4 - 2017 - 33
For the Defense - Volume 2, Issue 4 - 2017 - 34
For the Defense - Volume 2, Issue 4 - 2017 - Amicus Matters
For the Defense - Volume 2, Issue 4 - 2017 - 36
For the Defense - Volume 2, Issue 4 - 2017 - 37
For the Defense - Volume 2, Issue 4 - 2017 - 38
For the Defense - Volume 2, Issue 4 - 2017 - 39
For the Defense - Volume 2, Issue 4 - 2017 - Attorney Discipline
For the Defense - Volume 2, Issue 4 - 2017 - 41
For the Defense - Volume 2, Issue 4 - 2017 - 42
For the Defense - Volume 2, Issue 4 - 2017 - 43
For the Defense - Volume 2, Issue 4 - 2017 - Finding the Hidden Data in Technology to Defend Your Client
For the Defense - Volume 2, Issue 4 - 2017 - 45
For the Defense - Volume 2, Issue 4 - 2017 - 46
For the Defense - Volume 2, Issue 4 - 2017 - 47
For the Defense - Volume 2, Issue 4 - 2017 - 48
For the Defense - Volume 2, Issue 4 - 2017 - 49
For the Defense - Volume 2, Issue 4 - 2017 - 50
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