Recent Blog Posts
History of the Public Disclosure Bar in the Eleventh Circuit and Determining a Proper Burden-Shifting Framework
In 1986, Congress amended the False Claims Act (the “Act”) by adding the public disclosure bar.[1] Congress enacted this bar with the goal of balancing the prevention of parasitic actions based on publicly available information and the encouragement of individuals bringing qui tam actions.[2] The original version of the public disclosure stated: (A) No… Read More »
Adobe Inc. and U.S. Department of Justice Settle False Claims Act Case for $3 Million
On April 13, 2023, the United States Department of Justice (the “DOJ”) announced it reached a settlement with Adobe Inc. (“Adobe”) whereby Adobe agreed to pay $3 million to resolve False Claims Act allegations made against it by former Adobe insiders.[1] These allegations centered on Adobe making payments “in violation of the Anti-Kickback Act… Read More »
New Rules for Old Business? How to Determine if Newly Enacted Statutes Will Be Retroactively Applied
Everyday, federal and state legislators consider and enact statutes that change the rules governing business relationships between parties. While many believe these statutes only impact conduct that occurs following the statute’s effective date, sometimes this is not the case. Rather, a statute may operate retroactively, thus impacting conduct and transactions that transpired prior to… Read More »
Nearly Two Years Under Florida’s New Summary Judgment Standard: Appellate Courts Regularly Affirming Summary Judgment
May 1, 2021, the effective date of Florida’s amended summary judgment standard under Rule 1.510 (“New Rule”), turned the tide in terms of how Florida courts must adjudicate motions for summary judgment. Notably, whereas under the prior standard, “the existence of any competent evidence creating an issue of fact, however credible or incredible, substantial… Read More »
If I Blow the Whistle on My Employer, Can My Employer Sue Me For Breach of My Nondisclosure Agreement?
When weighing whether to blow the whistle on an employer engaging in fraud upon the Government, an employee or former employee (“Employee”) must consider if doing so would violate the Employee’s nondisclosure agreement. In particular, the Employee must weigh whether providing company documents to the Government will expose the Employee to liability. The short… Read More »
Are Your Company’s Marketing Calls and Text Messages Compliant with Florida Law? Are You Sure?
Any business that promotes its services through telephone or text-message marketing to Florida consumers must now be wary of the Florida Telephone Solicitation Act (“FTSA”).1 In July 2021, the Florida Legislature enacted a newly expanded version of the FTSA, and as a result, hundreds of lawsuits alleging violations of the statute have flooded the… Read More »
Tips for an LLC to Protect Against a Former Manager’s Claim for “Advancement” of Attorney’s Fees and Costs When the Former Manager Acted in Bad Faith
Under Florida law, a former manager of an LLC may have the right to require the LLC to indemnify his or her attorney’s fees and costs in a lawsuit in which the former manager has been sued as a defendant. In addition, depending on the language of the LLC’s operating agreement, the former manager… Read More »
Can a Whistleblower in an Existing Qui Tam Case Add A Co-Whistleblower to the Action?
In the life cycle of a qui tam case, it is common for a whistleblower (also referred to as a “relator”) to learn that another whistleblower has brought a qui tam action against the same defendant for the same or a substantially similar fraudulent scheme. For the second-filed (or third-filed, and so on) case,… Read More »
What are the Rules for Filing “Confidential Information” in the Court File in Florida?
As of July 1, 2021, all filers of documents in a case are responsible for redacting or identifying for redaction all court documents filed in circuit civil, county civil and small claims in the Fifteenth Judicial Circuit pursuant to amended Rule of Judicial Administration 2.420. In this regard, if any document filed with the… Read More »
One of These Things Doesn’t Belong Here: An LLC Member’s Direct and Derivative Claims Cannot be Joined in the Same Lawsuit
When litigating cases involving limited liability companies (or LLCs), we often see lawsuits that allege an LLC member’s direct claims together with the member’s derivative claims asserted on behalf of the LLC. Under Florida law, however, it is impermissible for an LLC member to allege both direct and derivative claims within the same lawsuit…. Read More »
