Michael Goldsticker wrote an article for the Federal Lawyer about the impacts of a U.S. Supreme Court decision from last year related to the False Claims Act. He focused on United States ex rel. Schutte v. SuperValu Inc., in which the justices held that the scienter requirement of the False Claims Act refers to a defendant's particular knowledge and subjective beliefs — not to what an objectively reasonable person may have known or believed. 

"In the wake of Schutte, legal commentators raised many practical questions about what effect, if any, this holding would have on the False Claims act landscape," Michael wrote. "Now, approximately one year later, as the dust settles and the principles from Schutte trickle through the lower courts, several takeaways are starting to become clear."

One takeaway was that although scienter was already an issue typically left for jury resolution, defendants are now even less likely to secure a pretrial dismissal of a False Claims Act on scienter grounds.

To read the full article, click here: One Year Later: Scienter Under the False Claims Act in the Wake of United States ex rel. Schutte v. SuperValu Inc.

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