The United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit recently issued a published opinion regarding entitlement to attorney fees in a False Claims Act settlement that involved multiple relators, each of whom had filed a case in which the government intervened. Addressing arguments based on 31 U.S.C. s. 3730(d)(1), the first-to-file rule, and the public-disclosure bar, the court held that every relator could seek fees. The Sixth Circuit’s decision in United States ex rel. Bryant v. Community Health Systems, Inc. was the first circuit-level decision on this subject, and it reached a conclusion that differed from that of the handful of district courts to have addressed the question. Therefore, the opinion should be front of mind for any False Claims Act defendant facing similar circumstances. Our colleagues Shams Hirji and Alon Farahan have provided a detailed discussion of the decision at the Sixth Circuit Appellate Blog here.
