U.S. ex rel. Boggs v. Bright Smile Family Dentistry (Summary)

FALSE CLAIMS ACT

U.S. ex rel. Boggs v. Bright Smile Family Dentistry, No. CIV-10-25-L (W.D. Okla. Apr. 18, 2013)

The United States District Court for the Western District of Oklahoma granted summary judgment in favor of a number of dentists and a dental practice in this False Claims Act case alleging that the offering of gas cards and courtesy transportation to patients by the dentists violated federal and state False Claims Acts.

The district court found that the relators did not raise a genuine issue of material fact regarding whether the dentists knew of the gasoline card incentives being offered to patients and that a reasonable jury would not be able to find a False Claims Act violation from the evidence presented by the relators.

The court also found that it lacked subject matter jurisdiction over the case pursuant to the doctrine of “public disclosure bar,” which states that a false claim suit is barred when based on public disclosure of the related allegations, unless the suit is brought by the attorney general or the person bringing suit is the original source of the information.  In this case, the qui tam relators’ claims were based on published advertisements by the defendant dentists in magazines of general publication, widely distributed throughout the relevant metropolitan area.   Therefore, the court held that they were barred.