United States First Circuit

In plaintiff's qui tam action against 120 spine surgeons and eighteen medical device distributors claiming that defendants defrauded the federal government by unlawfully promoting the medical products of plaintiff's former employer and its parent company, dismissal of the action is affirmed where: 1) the district court did not err in holding that the False Claims Act's (FCA) public disclosure provision barred her claims against the doctor defendants; 2) as used in the statute, "hearing" is synonymous with "proceeding," and because a disclosure in a civil complaint is a disclosure in a civil proceeding, the disclosures emanate from a statutorily listed source; 3) plaintiff's qui tam action is "based upon" the prior disclosures of fraud; 4) district court did not abuse its discretion in dismissing the action with prejudice; and 5) district court did not err in denying plaintiff's motion to file a second amended complaint.

Appellate Information

• Decided 09/08/2010
• Published 09/08/2010

Judges

• HOWARD

Court

• United States First Circuit

Counsel

• For Appellant:
  
• John R. Knight, John W. Lundquist