The federal government’s push to alleviate the burden of student debt for millions of Americans came to a head (and an end) in Biden v. Nebraska, No. 22-506, decided today by the Supreme Court. In the other student loan forgiveness case before the Court, Department of Education v. Brown, No. 22-535, the Court determined the plaintiff lacked standing.
Continue Reading Supreme Court Holds No Executive Authority for Widespread Student Debt Cancellation
The Supreme Court’s decision in the twin cases of Students For Fair Admissions, Inc. v. President and Fellows of Harvard College., No. 20-1199, and Students for Fair Admissions, Inc. v. University of North Carolina, No. 21-707 (collectively referenced as “SFFA”), marked the Court’s most recent attempt to address race-based admissions decisions in university admissions.
The Supreme Court today resolved a pivotal freedom of speech issue: whether applying a public accommodation law to compel an artist to speak or stay silent violates the Free Speech Clause of the First Amendment. In a 6-3 decision by Justice Neil Gorsuch, the Court held that the First Amendment protects the right to refuse endorsing a message on religious grounds.
Court watchers and reporters have paid most of their attention to the affirmative action and student loan cases decided this term. But we reported that earlier this month the Court also decided a series of consequential False Claims Act (“FCA”) cases. We provided a summary alert of those decisions (found here) and now elaborate on their key takeaways, impacting FCA defendants and, specifically, their defenses to FCA claims.
Continue Reading FCA: Key Takeaways from Supreme Court Decisions
In June 2023, the Supreme Court issued two opinions interpreting the False Claims Act (FCA)—U.S. ex rel. Schutte v. SuperValu, Inc., (June 1, 2023), U.S. ex rel. Proctor v. Safeway, Inc. (June 1, 2023), and U.S. ex rel. Polansky v. Executive Health Resources, Inc. (June 16, 2023).In the Supervalu/Safeway decision, which was an important victory for relators, the Court reinforced that the focus is on the subjective knowledge of a defendant for the scienter component of the FCA. In Polansky, the Court, in a ruling beneficial to defendants, held that the Government may dismiss an FCA action when it intervenes, even after the unsealing of the FCA complaint. Each decision also contains discussion about the scope of the FCA, and its statutory interpretations, which will surely lead to future challenges.
Continue Reading Figuring Out the FCA: Supreme Court Issues Two Decisions