False Claims Act – New York Appellate Digest

PLAINTIFF-RELATOR BROUGHT A QUI TAM ACTION (ON BEHALF OF THE GOVERNMENT) AGAINST A BANK ALLEGING VIOLATION OF THE STATE FINANCE LAW; THE QUI TAM ACTION WAS DISMISSED FOR FAILURE TO STATE A CLAIM; EVEN THOUGH THE CITY SETTLED WITH THE BANK IN A RELATED ACTION, PLAINTIFF-RELATOR WAS NOT ENTITLED TO A PERCENTAGE OF THE SETTLEMENT (FIRST DEPT).

The First Department, in a full-fledged opinion by Justice Singh, determined the plaintiff-relator, who brought a qui tam action against a bank alleging the bank violated the State Finance Law (re: foreign currency exchanges), was not entitled to a percentage of the related settlement reached by the bank and the city. The plaintiff-relator’s qui tam action had been dismissed for failure to state a claim which, pursuant to the terms of the relevant statute, precluded sharing in the settlement:

… [T]he City reached a $30 million settlement with defendants. The City made an offer of payment to relator. Relator rejected the offer, asserting that under the NYFCA, it was entitled to no less than 15% of the monies received. …

The NYFCA [New York False Claims Act] tracks the federal False Claims Act (31 USC § 3729 et seq.) (the Federal FCA). Accordingly, it is appropriate to look to federal law to interpret the NYFCA … . Federal authority holds that a relator who fails to state a viable claim under the Federal FCA is not entitled to recovery in an action brought by the government, even where that recovery stems from claims that overlap with the dismissed qui tam claims … . We are persuaded by this precedent and find that relator may not receive compensation under the NYFCA when its claims have been dismissed for failure to state a cause of action. Comptroller of the City of N.Y. v Bank of N.Y. Mellon Corp., 2021 NY Slip Op 06033, First Dept 11-4-21

November 4, 2021

False Claims Act, Securities

THE MOTIONS TO DISMISS THE QUI TAM ACTION ALLEGING THE VIOLATION OF THE NEW YORK FALSE CLAIMS ACT BY SETTING INTEREST RATES ON BONDS PROPERLY DENIED (FIRST DEPT).

The First Department affirmed Supreme Court’s denial of the motions to dismiss this qui tam action alleging defendants violated the New York False Claims Act (NYFCA) in setting interest rates for certain variable rate demand obligations (VRDO) (bonds):

False claims are actionable if the State provides any portion of the funds used to pay the false claims … .

The complaint sufficiently alleges that a portion of the funds the conduit borrower received came from the state. That the state’s money passed to defendant M&T Bank Corporation through private VRDO borrower entities does not make the government any less its source. By issuing conduit bonds, the state “made the funds available,” thereby “providing” money within the meaning of the New York False Claims Act … . State of New York ex rel. Edelweiss Fund, LLC v JP Morgan Chase & Co., 2020 NY Slip Op 08019, First Dept 12-29-20

December 29, 2020

Civil Procedure, False Claims Act, Fraud, Insurance Law

THE QUI TAM COMPLAINT ALLEGING INSURERS FAILED TO ACCURATELY REPORT UNCLAIMED LIFE INSURANCE PROCEEDS, TO WHICH THE STATE IS ENTITLED, IN VIOLATION OF THE NEW YORK FALSE CLAIMS ACT SHOULD NOT HAVE BEEN DISMISSED AND THE MOTION TO AMEND THE COMPLAINT TO SPECIFY THE FRAUD ALLEGATIONS SHOULD HAVE BEEN GRANTED (FIRST DEPT).

The First Department, reversing Supreme Court, determined plaintiff in this qui tam action should have been allowed to amend the complaint to specify the allegations of fraud against the defendant insurance companies. Unclaimed life insurance proceeds are supposed to escheat to the state. The lawsuit alleged the insurance companies had submitted false statements to the state to conceal the existence of life insurance proceeds to which the state is entitled, a violation of the New York False Claims Act (NYFCA). The First Department, in allowing the complaint to be amended to specify the fraud allegations, held that the 10-year statute of limitations applied to the filing of the alleged false reports:

… [P]laintiff adequately alleged that defendants knowingly filed false reports with the State which failed to identify escheatable life insurance proceeds. The complaint alleges that defendants’ recordkeeping was so haphazard — such as listing incorrect names, dates of birth, and Social Security numbers, or omitting one or more of those pieces of information altogether — that it amounted to reckless disregard for the truth or falsity of the reports that they submitted to the State (see State Finance Law § 188[3][a][iii]). In other circumstances, according to the complaint, defendants had actual knowledge that a policyholder was deceased, as evidenced by returned mail, customer call service logs, or demutualization payments separately escheated to the State, yet defendants nevertheless failed to disclose or escheat the deceased policyholder’s life insurance proceeds to the State (see State Finance Law § 188[3][a][i]). These allegations, if true, demonstrate that defendants “deliberately turn[ed] a blind eye to reporting errors and then attest[ed] that, to [their] knowledge, they d[id] not exist” … . Total Asset Recovery Servs. LLC v Metlife, Inc., 2020 NY Slip Op 07480, First Dept 12-10-20

December 10, 2020

False Claims Act, Tax Law

Attorney General’s Complaint Against Sprint Stated a Cause of Action Under the False Claims Act Re: Sales Tax On Wireless Phone Calls

The Court of Appeals, in a full-fledged opinion by Judge Lippman, over a partial dissent, determined the attorney general’s (AG’s) complaint sufficiently stated a cause of action against Sprint, based upon the False Claims Act (FCA), alleging the knowing submission of false sales tax statements re: interstate and international wireless phone calls. The court succinctly stated its holding as follows:

… (1) the New York Tax Law imposes sales tax on interstate voice service sold by a mobile provider along with other services for a fixed monthly charge; (2) the statute is unambiguous; (3) the statute is not preempted by federal law; (4) the Attorney General’s (AG) complaint sufficiently pleads a cause of action under the New York False Claims Act (FCA)(State Finance Law § 187 et seq.); and (5) the damages recoverable under the FCA are not barred by the Ex Post Facto Clause of the United States Constitution. People v Sprint Nextel Corp., 2015 NY Slip Op 07574, CtApp 10-20-15

October 20, 2015

THE MOTIONS TO DISMISS THE QUI TAM ACTION ALLEGING THE VIOLATION OF THE NEW YORK FALSE CLAIMS ACT BY SETTING INTEREST RATES ON BONDS PROPERLY DENIED (FIRST DEPT).

Attorney General’s Complaint Against Sprint Stated a Cause of Action Under the False Claims Act Re: Sales Tax On Wireless Phone Calls

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