Attys React To Supreme Court’s Wartime Limits To FCA Ruling

As seen in this article, “On Tuesday, the Supreme Court overturned a Fourth Circuit decision and held that the Wartime Suspension of Limitations Act applies only to criminal fraud claims and not civil fraud cases, including False Claims Act suits. Here, attorneys tell Law360 why the decision in Kellogg Brown & Root Services Inc. et al. v. U.S. ex rel. Carter is significant.”

According to Mark Olinsky, Member of Sills Cummis & Gross, “The unanimous decision in KBR provides clarity on two issues of importance to healthcare companies and others that are often the subject of qui tam actions. First, the holding that the WSLA applies only to criminal offenses means that the six-year limitations period (with 10-year maximum) will be the outer limit for filing a timely FCA claim. Second, the holding that an FCA claim ceases to be ‘pending’ once dismissed means that FCA defendants must be prepared to litigate claims fully because the first-to-file bar will not preclude a new lawsuit after settlement or dismissal of a similar claim.”