Supreme Court: False Claims Act Can Impose Liability For "Implied False Certifications"

Michael Manthei is a partner in Holland & Knight's Boston office and Timothy J. Taylor is a litigation attorney in the firm's Northern Virginia office.

HIGHLIGHTS:

• In an 8-0 decision, the U.S. Supreme Court held that the False Claims Act can impose liability under an "implied false certification" theory. According to this theory, when a defendant submits a claim to the federal government, it "impliedly certifies" its compliance with material statutory, regulatory and contractual requirements.
• The Supreme Court held that a material requirement is not always the same thing as an express condition of payment, saying, "What matters is not the label the Government attaches to a requirement, but whether the defendant knowingly violated a requirement that the defendant knows is material to the Government's payment decision."