Supreme Court Refuses to Hear AT&T Appeal of DC Circuit False Claims Act Ruling
The Supreme Court declined to review AT&T's appeal of a circuit court ruling that allowed a whistleblower's False Claims Act lawsuit to proceed (AT&T v. United States ex rel. Heath, No. 15-363). The lawsuit alleges the carrier fraudulently overcharged schools…
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and libraries under the FCC E-rate program. In its Monday order list, the high court denied without comment AT&T's petition for a writ of certiorari to review the ruling of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit (USA ex rel. Todd Heath v. AT&T, No. 14-7094) (see 1506230031) overturning a lower court ruling that dismissed the case. Heath, who runs a business that audits telecom charges, filed a qui tam suit (on behalf of the government) alleging AT&T and its subsidiaries fraudulently overbilled the E-rate program from 1997 to 2009. In its cert petition, AT&T argued Heath didn't meet a key duty under the False Claims Act: "While the core requirement of the FCA is the submission of a false claim for payment by the United States, the respondent does not identify even one example of such a claim. For that reason, this complaint would have been dismissed if it had been filed in the Fourth, Sixth, Eighth, or Eleventh Circuits. But the court below, like six other circuits, permits an FCA suit to proceed without identifying even a single false claim. This Court's intervention is warranted." Responding to Monday's announcement, an AT&T spokesman emailed: "Unfortunately the Court decided not to review the issue, but it’s important to note they did not address the merits of the case. We continue to believe we acted properly and look forward to proving that in Court."