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# Justice Department FCA Memos Explained
- URL: https://www.fdaweb.com/justice-department-fca-memos-explained/
- Published: 2018-05-01T12:00:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-09-15T00:02:03.000Z
- Author: David McFarland
- Tags: Drugs, Devices, #legacy-id-D5141341

In a Washington Legal Foundation [webinar](https://wlflegalpulse.com/2018/04/26/false-claims-act-enforcement-tea-leaves-read-at-wlf-webinar/?ref=fdaweb.com), attorneys **John Boese** and **Douglas Baruch** (Fried Frank) outlined the contents of two Justice Department internal memos dealing with False Claims Act cases and their impact on whistleblowers and federal prosecutors. Boese said that a 1/10 memo by **Michael Granston** states the department’s authority and responsibility to dismiss whistleblower cases that have no merit. “I believe he is saying the department attorneys should be doing that much more frequently,” Boese said.

He said Granston said dismissal should be considered when a case doesn’t have “substantial merit.” Granston also laid out seven bases on which cases could be dismissed.

A 1/25 memo by **Rachel Brand** told Justice Department attorneys that agency guidance documents cannot be used to determine that someone has violated the law. Rather, she said, that determination must be based on the law or on regulations that have gone through processes such as notice-and-comment rulemaking.