Cohen Milstein Partners Gary L. Azorsky and Jeanne A. Markey Provide Expert False Claims Act Guidance at Joint Hearing of the House Oversight and Judiciary Committees Concerning Perez Actions with Respect to St. Paul Qui Tam Cases

On May 7, 2013, statements, testimony, and letters from legal experts were submitted at a joint hearing of the House Oversight and Judiciary Committees rejecting Republican allegations that Tom Perez, head of the Civil Rights Division at the Department of Justice, inappropriately entered into a quid pro quo agreement with the City of St. Paul in which the Department declined to intervene in two False Claims Act cases in exchange for St. Paul withdrawing a separate case before the Supreme Court.

Cohen Milstein Partners Gary L. Azorsky and Jeanne A. Markey, co-chairs of the Whistleblower/False Claims Act practice group, at the request of Committee Staff, submitted a letter to the Committees entered into the record at the hearing disputing Republican claims that the Department of Justice gave up the opportunity to recover as much as $200 million:  “In fact, in declining to intervene in these actions, it ‘gave up’ no rights or opportunities at all.’”