Although antitrust cases are similar to qui tam suits in that the government relies on the enforcement efforts of private parties, the policy implications and economic incentives differ. One of their attorneys is Mark In this action brought under the qui tam provisions of the False Claims Act ("FCA"), 31 U.S.C.A. Purdue argues that Radcliffe was a bad actor who waited to file his qui tam complaint and, prior to doing so, attempted to settle with Purdue in exchange for an investment in a company he was starting. It was dismissed for failure. (Mountcastle Decl. He later retracted that offer after being informed by a lawyer that he could not settle a qui tam suit. Purdue Pharma, L.P. (1:05-cv-00089) District Court, W.D. "); Longhi, 481 F. Supp. It further reasoned that "[t]he public's interest in [the relator] maintaining the ability to bring a qui tam action to supplement federal enforcement of the FCA also remained as there was no guarantee when [the relator] executed the Release that the federal government was ever going to investigate, let alone prosecute," the alleged fraud. Id. The government stated that without the relator's assistance following the release date it could not have issued a warrant to obtain documents or made sense of those documents when received and that given that these documents were not received until several weeks after the release date, the government had not had the opportunity to fully investigate prior to the execution of the release. A separate order will be entered herewith. However, he states that no details of the alleged misconduct were given and the attorney did not identify the name of his client. Document production requests made by the government and conversations between lawyers representing the government and Purdue or its employees in June and July of 2005 suggest that the government was trying to learn more about the relative cost and potency issue. Green, 59 F.3d at 962 (quoting Rumery, 480 U.S. at 392), 107 S.Ct. In this case, that information was the first FCA suit filed by Mark Radcliffe. The Agreement and General Release that Radcliffe signed contained the following language: Radcliffe then filed his qui tam Complaint on September 27, 2005. Purdue urges the court to consider pre- Green cases Virginia Impression Products Co. v. SCM Corp., 448 F.2d 262 (4th Cir. The relator would likely be willing to accept a lower overall settlement amount from the other party, knowing that he would receive the entire amount, rather than only a portion of the settlement. Ten years ago, Mark Radcliffe, a former district sales manager for Purdue Pharma, filed a qui tam action under the FCA against Purdue. Grayson v. Pac. 56(e)). Thus, I find that these constitute public disclosures in the news media. Months later, the former employee filed a qui tam complaint in federal court. 1995), and United States ex rel Hall v. Teledyne Wah Chang Albany, 104 F.3d 230 (9th Cir. 5:2010cv01423 - Document 191 (S.D.W. Purdue Pharma Br. The court stated that the defendant "informed the [NRC] of Hall's concerns," but it does not necessarily follow that in doing so Hall was identified to the NRC. This case stemmed from a qui tam action under the FCA that Mark Radcliffe ("Radcliffe"), a former district sales manager for Purdue Pharma ("Purdue"), filed against Purdue, alleging that Purdue improperly labeled the drug OxyContin as having a higher pain . (c) and (f)(2)). to Mot. 30.) Mistick PBT v. Hous. Once it decided to fashion a uniform rule on the enforceability of pre-filing releases, the Ninth Circuit turned to Rumery, 480 U.S. at 392, to structure its discussion of competing policy concerns. The Newsletter Bringing the Legal System to Light. Id. . The employer in Green argued that because the government had ultimately become aware of the allegations and conducted its own investigation, the release would not have detrimental effects. Virginia Search this Docket Tags Get Alerts View on PACER Last Updated: Dec. 28, 2020, 6:49 a.m. EST Assigned To: James Parker Jones Referred To: Pamela M. Sargent Date Filed: Sept. 27, 2005 Date Terminated: Jan. 25, 2009 Date of Last Known Filing: June 1, 2010 at 916. Purdue also argues that in Hall itself the government had not completed its investigation prior to the execution of the release. The plea agreements included settlement of certain of the government's civil claims, but not of Radcliffe's qui tam suit. The Ninth Circuit also relied on Davies v. Grossmont Union High School District, 930 F.2d 1390 (9th Cir. Hall, 104 F.3d at 231. The Fourth Circuit does not have any analogous case law interpreting Rumery. the baton" and file the qui tam action against Purdue now before the court. at 1513. 1982). 31 U.S.C.A. Gilligan, 403 F.3d at 389; see also Springfield, 14 F.3d at 655; United States ex rel. Auth. Specifically, he alleged that Purdue fraudulently marketed OxyContin using the 2:1 equianalgesic ratio, thus claiming that its relative cost was less than that of MS Contin. The term "news media" includes scholarly, scientific, and technical periodicals, including trade journals, because, like newspapers, these sources disseminate information to the public in a periodic manner. The case previously reached the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, which refused to dismiss the case based on a lack of specific allegations because the whistleblowers still had the opportunity to amend their complaint. 1994); United States ex rel. The allegation is contained in a motion asking U.S. District Judge Irene Berger, of the Southern District of West Virginia, to force the plaintiffs and their attorneys to pay the companys nearly $850,000 legal bill in the second case, which Berger dismissed on Oct. 31. United States ex rel. These disclosures suggest legitimate scientific debate and disagreement regarding the correct equianalgesic ratio, rather than any fraudulent intent on the part of Purdue. For convenience, references herein to the "Complaint" shall include the most recent version. Matsushita Elec. Accordingly, I do not address Purdue's second argument that the package insert is a public disclosure from an administrative investigation. Although the 2001 posting of the OxyContin package insert could be considered either a corporate report or a press release, because it was posted on a web page entitled "News What's New" and because other items on the page resemble press releases, I will consider the OxyContin package insert a public disclosure in the news media. The allegations claimed Purdue Pharma marketed OxyContin with a false claim that a patient could use half as much OxyContin as MS Contin to treat the same pain. However, this applies to public policy concerns in the interpretation of a contract rather than in a determination of its validity. The circumstances here fall within the general rule articulated in Green that pre-filing releases are unenforceable to bar subsequent qui tam actions, rather than the Hall exception, because the government had not fully investigated the substance of Radcliffe's allegations. The Fourth Circuit agreed that the district court did not have jurisdiction over the claims and affirmed. Co. v. Quinn, 14 F.3d 645, 654-55 (D.C. Cir. On Nov. 17, Purdue Pharma alleged attorney Mark Hurt of Abingdon, Va., used information from a previous, unsuccessful whistleblower lawsuit against Purdue Pharma to file another through the plaintiffs wife and former coworker. Purdue objects, but I find no cognizable basis for denying Radcliffe's request. The plaintiff has the burden of showing that the court has subject matter jurisdiction. He was also told that Purdue's decision to rely on the 2:1 ratio, despite published articles indicating that the 1:1 ratio was more appropriate for OxyContin's approved use, was based on safety concerns, that is, it was better for doctors to start with a lower dose and adjust upward if necessary. Here, it appears that the government did learn of the substance of Radcliffe's allegations independently and was interested enough in them to request documents pertaining to and question various Purdue employees about the relative cost and potency issue. On September 27, 2005, Radcliffe filed his qui tam Complaint. The stay was lifted in late 2006, and the government chose not to intervene on May 8, 2007. (Information 20, United States v. Purdue Frederick Co., supra.) On September 18 2014 Defendants hereinafter Purdue filed.20141009i18 Indus. Radcliffe was interviewed a second time in September 2006 and asked about the misleading promotion of OxyContin. 2007). (f)(2).) Radcliff is a former sales representative and manager at Purdue, who left its employment shortly before he filed the present suit. Va.)) None of the misbranding charges pertained to the relative cost and potency issue. Va. 2007) (accepting plea agreements). This action was stayed for some time at the request of the federal government, which eventually declined to intervene, along with all of the thirteen state governments named in the Complaint. 2d 1158, 1164-65 (N.D. Ill. 2007). decision in United States ex rel. Id. Relators, or private individuals who bring suits on behalf of the government, are entitled to a portion of the recovery from a qui tam suit, the amount of which depends on whether the government chooses to intervene after learning the allegations and prosecute the case itself and the overall importance of the relator's participation in the action. 2d 815, 818 (S.D. During the course of the agency's investigation, the employee was terminated and initiated a state court action, which did not include a qui tam claim. For the reasons stated, the Motion to Dismiss will be denied in part and granted in part, with leave to amend. More than a year later, after he had executed the release, the relator was contacted by USDA investigators and at this time he provided detailed information regarding his allegations. On May 10, 2007, the government filed a criminal information against a related Purdue entity and several Purdue executives, along with executed plea agreements for all the criminal defendants. Several months later, Purdue restructured its sales force and Radcliffe was offered the option of transferring positions, which he declined, or termination with an extended severance package. The court held the release unenforceable both because it was executed within the statutory sixty-day investigatory period and interfered with the government's ability to evaluate whether to intervene in the suit and because it was contrary to public policy under the Green/Hall framework. F. Brian Ferguson. These responses did not address the cost implications that concerned Radcliffe.
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