Zuckerman Spaeder LLP Prevails in U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit in False Claims Act Case

On August 26, 2014, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit decided in favor of Zuckerman Spaeder LLP client Anthony Oliver, a relator who filed a qui tam action against Philip Morris USA under the federal False Claims Act, 31 U.S.C. §§ 3729-3733. Zuckerman Spaeder partners Carl S. Kravitz and Jason M. Knott represented Mr. Oliver in the D.C. Circuit, with co-counsel David S. Golub of Silver Golub & Teitell LLP. In his suit, Mr. Oliver alleges that Philip Morris USA significantly overcharged the U.S. military for cigarettes for several years, violating the tobacco company’s most favored customer agreements with the military. Mr. Oliver further alleges that Philip Morris violated the False Claims Act by falsely certifying that it was in compliance with those provisions, resulting in overcharges on millions of cartons of cigarettes. The D.C. Circuit reversed the district court’s dismissal of the suit based on the public disclosure bar in the act and remanded for further proceedings.

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