(Newswire.net — May 26, 2018) — A recently leaked Department of Justice memorandum suggests that an increased focus on dismissing meritless false claims cases be adopted. This memorandum, better known as the “Grandston Memorandum”, seeks to improve the efficiency at which the courts function by utilizing DOJ dismissal as a tool to weed out meritless cases.
What is the Grandston Memo?
The Grandston Memo acknowledges the fact that there was a significant increase in whistleblower actions that were filed under the FCA, but the rate at which the courts were involved in these cases remained stagnant. It was from this lack of intervention that the conclusion was made that a lot of these cases were possibly deemed meritless.
The increase in FCA claims is due to the qui tam provision that not only increases a whistleblower’s involvement in bringing to light scams that put the government at a financial disadvantage, but also rewards whistleblowers with a percentage of funds awarded as a result of the FCA claim.
What is the qui tam provision?
The qui tam provision was what truly gave the False Claims Act its teeth. Prior to the addition of the qui tam provision, the FCA was utterly ineffective at keeping unscrupulous business entities from defrauding the government. The FCA was first brought into being as a measure against businesses that provided the Union Army with substandard and overpriced supplies.
It wasn’t until 1863 that the FCA saw a sudden increase in potency with the introduction of the qui tam provision. While the increase in whistleblowers was a welcome effect, with it came the danger of the filing of meritless cases, which, if they were decided upon wrongly, would greatly tarnish the court’s credibility. It is for this reason that every FCA claim has to be closely monitored.
How would the DOJ benefit from this memorandum?
With this in mind, the memorandum addresses concerns that the court’s limited resources are being exhausted on monitoring meritless cases. By dismissing meritless claims, the government is then able to direct its limited resources toward more important concerns.
While it is expected that prosecutors will remain resistant to actively dismissing meritless cases, the memorandum still provides definite guidelines on how to scrutinize claims in which the government has declined to intervene. These factors and guidelines can be found in this article.
This memorandum also encourages active communication between prosecutors and defense counsel as soon as the defendant becomes aware of the FCA claim, and before the investigation of the claim is made public.
How does this memorandum affect defendants?
The Grandston Memorandum also protects defendants from unnecessary legal fees that would arise from having to prove innocence in a meritless case.
In essence, this memorandum serves the same purpose as that of court decongestion officers who determine whether or not a claim should be dismissed. Now, as a whistleblower, you need to know how to file a qui tam lawsuit properly in order to avoid the penalties that arise from filing meritless claims.