Subject to Inquiry

Subject to Inquiry

THE LATEST ON GOVERNMENT INQUIRIES AND ENFORCEMENT ACTIONS

Government Investigations and White Collar Litigation Group

Jonathan Ellis

Photo of Jonathan Ellis As co-chair of the Appeals and Issues Team, Jonathan helps clients design winning legal strategies in appeals and high-stakes litigation. Jonathan has argued nine cases before the U.S. Supreme Court and filed more than 150 briefs at the merits and certiorari stages before the Court. He has handled appeals and dispositive motions in other federal courts and state courts across the country. He has significant experience nationally in assisting clients in formulating appellate strategy, both in pending appeals and at the trial court level before judgment. And he has challenged and defended federal agency actions at every level of the federal judiciary.

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Supreme Court Holds That SEC Must Seek Civil Penalties in Federal Court

Enforcement and Prosecution Policy and Trends
In SEC v. Jarkesy, No. 22-859, 603 U.S. __ (2024), the Supreme Court held that the Seventh Amendment prohibits the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC or Commission) from seeking civil penalties in certain enforcement actions when the Commission chooses to proceed in-house before its own administrative law judges (ALJs), rather than in federal court. In… Continue Reading

U.S. Supreme Court Clarifies DOJ’s Authority to Dismiss Whistleblowers’ False Claims Act Suits, Questions Constitutionality of Qui Tam Provisions

Fraud, Deception and False Claims
The U.S. Supreme Court recently resolved a circuit split by holding that, in a False Claims Act action, (1) the government may seek dismissal of a qui tam case in which the government initially declined to intervene over the relator’s objection so long as it later intervened in the litigation, and (2) district courts should… Continue Reading

Supreme Court Clarifies the False Claims Act’s Knowledge Requirement, Eliminating a Potential Defense for Government Contractors and Healthcare Providers Accused of Fraud

Fraud, Deception and False Claims, Government Contracts
On June 1, 2023, the Supreme Court unanimously ruled in favor of whistleblower plaintiffs (referred to as “relators”) in consolidated False Claims Act (“FCA”) cases in a decision that clarified the application of the FCA’s knowledge requirement.  In United States ex rel. Schutte v. SuperValu Inc., the Court held that the FCA reaches defendants who… Continue Reading

Supreme Court to Review When DOJ May Dismiss Relator Suits

Fraud, Deception and False Claims
Last month, the Supreme Court granted certiorari in United States ex rel. Polansky v. Executive Health Resources, Inc., a case presenting the question whether the federal government forfeits the authority to dismiss False Claims Act (FCA) suits brought in its name if it first declines to intervene in them. Continue reading our commentary on The FCA Insider.… Continue Reading

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