In Arias v. Superior Court, 46 Cal. 4th 969 (2009), the California Supreme Court ruled that Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA) actions need not satisfy class action requirements, and in the fourteen years since, PAGA plaintiffs have routinely (and often successfully) resisted attempts to apply class action principles to PAGA actions. A recent unpublished California Court of Appeal decision bucks that trend by lending
Somers v. Digital Realty Trust, Inc., 850 F.3d 1045 (9th Cir. 2017)
Paul Somers, who was formerly employed as a vice president of Digital Realty, alleged that he was fired after he made several reports to senior management regarding possible securities law violations. Somers did not report his concerns to the SEC. Somers sued Digital Realty for violation of Section 21F of the Securities
United States ex rel. Mateski v. Raytheon, 816 F.3d 565 (9th Cir. 2016)
Steven Mateski worked as an engineer at Raytheon. Mateski filed a complaint in federal court alleging that Raytheon had violated the False Claims Act (“FCA”) by failing to comply with numerous contractual requirements in developing a project for the government, fraudulently covering up areas of noncompliance and improperly billing the government
United States ex rel. Hartpence v. Kinetic Concepts, Inc., 792 F.3d 1121 (9th Cir. 2015) (en banc)
Steven Hartpence and Geraldine Godecke (“Relators”) alleged in these consolidated qui tam cases that their former employer (Kinetic) had fraudulently claimed reimbursements from Medicare. After the allegations of Medicare fraud were publicly disclosed, Relators each informed the government of the alleged fraud and then filed
On January 30, 2014, the California Court of Appeal for the Fifth Appellate District ruled that California State courts have concurrent jurisdiction over retaliation claims under the federal False Claims Act (FCA) in Driscoll v. Superior Court (Spencer). The following addresses the basis for that ruling and its implications.
Background
Radiologist Scott Driscoll worked for physician Todd Spencer and his medical practice, the Todd
Hooper v. Lockheed Martin Corp., 2012 WL 3124970 (9th Cir. 2012)
Nyle J. Hooper brought suit against Lockheed Martin under the qui tam provisions of the False Claims Act (the “FCA”). Hooper filed suit in the District Court for the District of Maryland, which transferred the suit at Lockheed’s request to the Central District of California on forum non conveniens grounds. The California district