ST. LOUIS — U.S. District Judge Charles Shaw has ordered the plaintiff in a False Claims Act lawsuit to pay litigation costs incurred by her former employer.
The ruling handed down March 20 in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri came a week after the court granted summary judgment to Rehab Medical Inc. -- a supplier of manual and electric motorized wheelchairs -- in a case brought in 2014 by Jennifer Gierer. Gierer claimed the company "engaged in a pattern and practice of falsifying dates and other information on prescriptions and on medical records used to support claims for coverage of durable medical equipment to Medicare and other government sponsored programs."
Gierer alleged that Rehab Medical's employees routinely were instructed to alter dates on prescriptions and information in medical records to make it appear to comply with the government-funded programs so that claims would be considered eligible and payable.
"Additionally, Rehab generates a list of Medicare beneficiaries, who obtained Medicare-paid power wheelchairs five years earlier, whether through Rehab or a different supplier, and provides the list to their sales staff," Gierer alleged. "This list is then used to solicit, by telephone, Medicare beneficiaries who may qualify for new or upgraded power wheelchairs."
In granting summary judgment to Rehab Medical, the court ruled on Gierer's claim under the anti-retaliation provisions of the False Claims Act, though the court declined jurisdiction over three remaining state law claims for unpaid commissions, unjust enrichment and wrongful termination.
While the court ruled in favor of defendant Rehab Medical in granting costs, Shaw trimmed the amount sought from approximately $18,000 to just under $4,000.
Rehab Medical had sought $11,556.66 for various depositions, but Shaw granted $2,889.17; the company sought $4,549.94 for witness fees, but Shaw granted $801.62. Additionally, the company sought $2,253.06 for 30 invoices of copy services but was granted $217.94.