U.S. District Court Dismisses False Claims Act Suit Against Pharmacy Client

Today a federal district court judge in Massachusetts issued an opinion dismissing, with prejudice, a civil False Claims Act lawsuit filed against a pharmacy represented by Marcos E. Hasbun, a partner in the Tampa office of Zuckerman Spaeder LLP. The lawsuit alleged that a number of pharmacies, including Mr. Hasbun’s client, submitted false claims for reimbursement to government healthcare programs in connection with an anti-AIDS wasting drug called Serostim.

The lawsuit claimed that the pharmacies violated the federal Anti-Kickback Statute by failing to pass on price discounts from the drug’s manufacturer to government healthcare programs, allegedly resulting in inflated reimbursement submissions by the pharmacies. The court agreed with Mr. Hasbun’s argument that the lawsuit failed to allege with the required specificity the submission of any actual claim or claims by the pharmacies that could have potentially constituted a false claim. Accordingly, the court dismissed the lawsuit and denied the plaintiffs' request to amend their complaint.

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Katie Munroe
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