One month into 2019, we can look back on 2018 as a year of shifting enforcement policies and continuing jurisprudential uncertainty in the wake of Escobar.
In 2018, False Claims Act (FCA) recoveries by the Department of Justice totaled $2.8 billion – a considerable decrease in recoveries from the more than $3.4 billion in total recoveries in 2017 and the more than $4.9 billion in total recoveries in 2016.
Industry-specific data reflect recoveries holding steady for the healthcare industry, while recoveries in cases involving the defense industry were cut in half. Recoveries for all non-healthcare and non-defense industries dropped even further.
The most significant developments for FCA defendants in 2018 came from the DOJ, which announced three shifts in policy favorable to potential FCA defendants. And there were significant jurisprudential developments as well. We address these developments, as well as high-profile FCA cases and emerging trends to watch in 2019, in our latest handbook.