Thanks to inexact language in a settlement agreement, a
for-profit hospital chain can challenge whistleblowers'
eligibility for attorneys' fees under the False Claims Act
("FCA"). The single sentence that spawned nearly 5 years
of litigation was: "All Parties agree that nothing in this
Paragraph or this Agreement shall be construed in any way to
release, waive or otherwise affect the ability of CHS to challenge
or object to [whistleblower's] claims for attorneys' fees,
expenses, and costs pursuant to 31 U.S.C. § 3730(d)."
The dispute arose out of a years-long FCA investigation into
claims of improper billing and admissions practices at Community
Health Systems, Inc. ("CHS") hospitals across the
country. CHS, the government, and the nine individual
whistleblowers eventually entered into a settlement agreement, and
CHS agreed to pay the government $97.3 million plus interest to
resolve all claims. However, the parties disagreed on the meaning
of the sentence in which
