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# SCOTUS Decision Could Increase False Claims Cases: Report
- URL: https://www.fdaweb.com/scotus-decision-could-increase-false-claims-cases-report/
- Published: 2019-05-09T12:00:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-09-15T01:25:43.000Z
- Author: David McFarland
- Tags: Drugs, Devices, #legacy-id-D5144076

A Supreme Court decision expected in June could lead to an increase in False Claims Act cases according to some attorneys contacted by Bloomberg Law. The [report](https://news.bloomberglaw.com/health-law-and-business/false-claims-landscape-could-change-after-decision-drops?utm%5Fsource=rss&utm%5Fmedium=HLNW&utm%5Fcampaign=0000016a-7f12-df67-a9ea-7f56e7190002) says that defense attorneys “resoundingly believe \[the ruling\] will give whistleblowers more time to act on behalf of the government and sue companies for allegedly defrauding federal programs.”

Healthcare false claims cases accounted for about 90% of the government’s False Claims Act recoveries during 2017 and 2018, Bloomberg says.

The case involves differing opinions on the reading of a False Claims Act provision that requires whistleblowers to file a case within six years of the alleged violation or no more than three years after an official of the U.S. charged with the responsibility to act knew or reasonably should have known about the alleged fraud. Bloomberg says the three-year window gives whistleblowers up to 10 years to bring a claim after the alleged fraud occurred.

The Supreme Court will decide among differing opinions from Appeals Court decisions. Attorneys told Bloomberg the court appears likely to uphold an 11th Circuit decision that said whistleblowers can rely on the three-year window even in cases when the government declines to intervene. The 4th, 5th, and 10th Circuits have said the three-year filing period only applies if the government has intervened in a case. And the 3rd and 9th Circuits have said the three-year filing period is available when the government doesn’t intervene, but that the whistleblower is the government official who starts the clock ticking.

Attorneys and law school professors interviewed by Bloomberg differ on the ultimate impact of the expected ruling in terms of whether more cases would be filed and whether the government would seek to dismiss more cases.