U.S. ex rel. Singh v. Bradford Regional Med. Ctr. — Sept. 2006 (Summary only)

FRAUD AND ABUSE

U.S. ex rel. Singh v. Bradford Regional Med. Ctr.
No. 04-186 ERIE (W.D. Pa. Sept. 13, 2006)

The United States District Court of the Western District of Pennsylvania refused to grant a hospital’s motion to dismiss a qui tam action, holding that Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 9(b) did not require the relators to provide specific information regarding the claims involved in their allegation. The relators, a group of physicians, claimed the hospital had presented false claims to the government in its Medicare Cost Report when it sought payment for patients who were allegedly referred illegally from a physician practice with which the hospital had entered into an equipment sublease. The hospital claimed the relators failed to comply with the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure because they did not provide specifics with respect to the alleged claims filed, nor did they provide specific information regarding the alleged illegal referrals. However, the district court denied the hospital’s motion, finding that the relators’ charges related to an improper financial arrangement between the hospital and the physician practice, and not to any specific, single claim. Therefore, the district court found the relators’ allegations were sufficient to put the hospital on notice of the charges against it and denied the hospital’s motion to dismiss.