Johnson
Piacentile and Kilcoyne (Relators) were among those filing False Claim Act qui tam actions against drug maker Amgen Inc., alleging fraudulent marketing practices, promotion of off-label uses, and provision of kickbacks to physicians. In October 2011 Amgen, the government and 10 others arrived at a settlement totalling $780 million in civil and criminal penalties. The Relators rejected the government’s offer of $1.8 million therefrom. The government viewed that “de minimis” amount adequate given what it deemed their unviable claims. Despite finding three of its four arguments academic, district court dismissed the Relators’ third amended complaint. Discussing Swift v. United States and Ridenour v. Kaiser-Hill, the court found that under 31 USC §3730(c)(2)(A) the government correctly asserted its right to put an end to litigation it deems expensive and needless or futile. The $780 million settlement was a testament to merit of the government’s determination that many of the qui tam actions claims against Amgen held merit. When the Relators rejected the government’s $1.8 million offer to them, the government was within its right to determine that further litigation was unlikely to lead to fraud prevention or additional recovery.