Eighth Circuit Affirms False Claims Act Dismissal On Rule 9(b) Grounds

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit recently affirmed the dismissal of a False Claims Act ("FCA") complaint in United States ex rel. Dunn v. North Memorial Health Care (8th Cir. No. 13-1099, Jan. 9, 2014) for failing to meet the particularity requirements of Rule 9(b). Noting that the complaint failed to identify even a single example of an alleged false claim submitted for reimbursement, the court rejected the relator's argument that it was sufficient to allege that because of the hospital's supposed regulatory violations, every claim it submitted over more than a decade was false.

The relator in Dunn was a former employee of an independent cardiology physician group that provided services at defendant North Memorial Health Care ("North Memorial"). The relator alleged that the hospital failed to provide physician supervision for its cardiac and pulmonary rehabilitation services as required by Medicare regulations. As a result, the relator contended that