Hunton Retail Law Resource

How much particularity is required to plead a claim under the False Claims Act (“FCA”), a statute designed to root out fraud against the government? While courts purport to apply the requirements of Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 9(b) and its stringent standards for pleading fraud, several circuits take a more flexible approach when assessing claims brought under the FCA. The United States Supreme Court recently declined to take up the matter and resolve this key question. Accordingly, the forum in which an FCA suit is brought continues to have a dramatic impact on whether it will be subject to an early dismissal.