Author Archives: Site Administrator
What Happens After I Blow-the-Whistle and File a Qui Tam Case?
If you are considering blowing-the-whistle on government fraud, you are probably wondering what happens once you file a qui tam lawsuit under the False Claims Act. The False Claims Act, 31 U.S.C. § 3729 et seq., contains a very detailed process for bringing a whistleblower case. Steps involved in a qui tam case Before… Read More »
Putting Down a Deposit? Beware of Liquidated Damages Clauses
Florida Contract Law: Liquidated Damages Clauses In a nutshell, a liquidated damages clause in a contract sets forth a specific sum of money that one party can collect or retain if the other party breaches the contract. The point of such a clause is to settle on an amount of damages ahead of time… Read More »
When Healthcare Fraud Turns Deadly
Deadly Healthcare Fraud in Florida and Beyond Do you think Medicare and Medicaid fraud is a victim-less crime? Think again. Many times, health care fraud only causes monetary damages to the government and taxpayers. Depending on the type of fraud, however, it can also result in injuries to or even the death of Medicaid… Read More »
Hospital Fraud – Inpatient Admissions
In America today, many hospitals are owned and controlled by massive corporations that operate large chains of hospitals throughout the country. As a result, your local hospital may not be locally owned or controlled. Instead, it might be more akin to a McDonald’s restaurant, owned and controlled by some large corporation with a faraway… Read More »
What Fiduciary Duty of Loyalty Does a Manager or Member Owe an LLC?
The Fiduciary Duty of Loyalty and Managers/Members of an LLC Under the Florida Revised LLC Act, each manager of a manager-managed LLC and member of a member-managed LLC owes a fiduciary duty of loyalty to the LLC and its members. See Fla. Stat. 605.04091(1). The Fiduciary Duty of Loyalty The fiduciary duty of loyalty… Read More »
The CFTC Has a Whistleblower Program, Too!
While we’ve written about the whistleblower programs administered by the IRS and the SEC on this blog, one has been consistently neglected – the CFTC Whistleblower Program. The Commodities Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) regulates futures and option markets. Futures contracts are, in their basic form, agreements to purchase and sell assets at a price… Read More »
Claim for Defamation Differ vs Claim for Defamation Per Se
Florida Law: Defamation vs. Defamation Per Se In Florida, a plaintiff must prove the following elements to succeed on a claim for defamation: a false statement concerning another person or company; an unprivileged publication of the statement to a third party; negligence or intentional conduct on the part of the author of the statement;… Read More »
The Myth of the Closely-Held Corporation
Florida Law: Closely-Held Corporations A closely-held corporation, also called a close corporation, is generally defined as a corporation in which the stock is not freely traded and is held by only a handful of shareholders. While this term has been used frequently by Florida courts to describe small, family-held corporations (a single search on… Read More »
Can Whistleblowers Use HIPAA to Support Their Claims?
HIPPA and Whistleblower Cases Most people in the healthcare industry know that documents covered by HIPAA must be treated with utmost secrecy and care. Protecting patient privacy is a big deal. Thus, questions frequently arise when a healthcare worker wants to blow the whistle on fraud. Can he or she use HIPAA protected documents… Read More »
The U.S. Trade War with China – How the False Claims Act Can Help
The United States is currently at war with the People’s Republic of China – a trade war. The False Claims Act has an important role to play in this battle. Every year foreign countries, but most particularly China, engage in a practice of “dumping” goods into the U.S. market. Generally, this occurs when a… Read More »