A year ago, when the U.S. Justice Department issued guidance urging prosecutors to dismiss allegedly meritless whistleblower cases, defense lawyers cheered what they considered a significant new check on lawsuits alleging fraud against the government.

It didn't take long for Justice Department lawyers to act on the guidance, which put a new focus on the False Claims Act, a law that allows whistleblowers to bring cases alleging fraud against government programs and keep a portion of any awarded damages. In December alone, the Justice Department moved to dismiss 11 whistleblower lawsuits against pharmaceutical manufacturers.

The dismissal motions demonstrated that the Justice Department “may continue to review [False Claims Act] litigation trends and seek to curtail actions that it views as unwarranted,” lawyers at O'Melveny & Myers said last year. They predicted more expansive dismissals could deter plaintiffs' attorneys and ward off litigation-financing firms.