Whistleblower’s Delight: An Evaluation of the Third Circuit Decision in Foglia v. Renal Ventures

Abstract

In 2014, in Foglia v. Renal Ventures Management LLC, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit evaluated the pleading requirements needed to satisfy Rule 9(b) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, within the context of False Claims Act complaints. The Third Circuit concurred with the First, Fifth, and Ninth Circuits and determined that it is necessary to provide only reliable indicia that leads to a strong inference of a scheme to submit false claims. This is in opposition to the holdings of some Circuits, which have required complaints to allege specific times, places, contents of acts, and identity of actors. This Comment argues the Third Circuit applied the correct standard because the requirement of advanced specificity at the initial pleading stage presents an unreasonable hurdle to whistleblowers seeking discovery.