Appellate Law News and Insights

Writing for a unanimous Supreme Court of the United States, on June 1, 2023, Justice Clarence Thomas issued a decision clarifying the knowledge requirement for cases brought pursuant to the False Claims Act (FCA). In overturning the consolidated cases of United States ex rel. Schutte et al. v. SuperValu Inc., et...

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The U.S. Supreme Court clarified the standard for a defendant's state of mind in False Claims Act ("FCA") cases, holding that a defendant acts "knowingly"—which the FCA defines also to include deliberate ignorance and reckless disregard—if it actually knows its conduct is illegal, knows of a substantial risk of unlawfulness...

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A recent Seventh Circuit decision affirms the principle that an ERISA severance plan can reserve to the employer discretion over who is eligible for severance benefits. The case is Carlson v. Northrop Grumman Severance Plan, No. 22-1764, __ F.4th __, 2023 WL 3299703 (7th Cir. May 8, 2023). The case involved...

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