Court Dismisses Remaining Counts in False Claims Act Case
On Friday, December 21, 2012, the United States District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee dismissed Counts III – VI in the matter of U.S. ex rel. Williams v. Renal Care Group and Fresenius Medical Care, finally ending in Fresenius’ favor a long-running false claims act case and investigation. The investigation had started in 2005 and the Department of Justice joined the litigation in 2007. After the district court entered judgment against Fresenius in the amount of $83 million, the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit reversed that judgment, holding that the defendants had not acted with fraudulent intent and that the rules governing this activity were unclear. The Court directed judgment to be entered in favor of Renal Care Group and Fresenius on Counts I and II and remanded Counts III – VI for further proceedings. The dismissal ended the remaining claims. Jim Bennett and Megan Heinsz represented the defendants.