Can Equitable Tolling Be Used to Extend FCA Statute of Limitations?
The federal False Claims Act (FCA) is a law allowing federal authorities or private individuals to sue federal contractors believed to have filed false payment requests with the government. An example is a lawsuit alleging that a physician submitted inflated bills for treating Medicare patients. A lawsuit brought by a private individual is called a "qui tam" action.
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Statute of Limitations
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The statute of limitations is the amount of time after the alleged wrongdoing during which a plaintiff may file a lawsuit. A qui tam FCA lawsuit must be filed within six years after the violation occurred. The government is permitted three years after knowing or having the ability to learn about the violation, but no longer than 10 years after the incident to file a case. This means that if more than 10 years has passed since a company fraudulently received government funds but the government has only known of the fraud for two years, the government cannot sue.
Equitable Tolling
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Equitable tolling is a legal rule which permits plaintiffs to bring lawsuits after the expiration of the claim's applicable statute of limitations. This rule applies only when a plaintiff could not have discovered the facts that form the basis of the claim during the limitations period.
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The FCA and Equitable Tolling
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Whether equitable tolling applies to FCA lawsuits is somewhat unresolved. Generally, federal authorities may claim equitable tolling applies if they were unable to file the case within the 10-year period. In qui tam actions, however, equitable tolling will not extend the statute of limitations.
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