It’s been a big month for reducing the stigma of pregnant women at work: First, the Prime Minister of New Zealand, Jacinda Ardern, 37, became the first world leader in three decades to give birth while in office (and only the second world leader overall ever!). Second, in a move aptly billed as “an ace for female tennis players everywhere,” the U.S. Open…
Posted June 18th, 2018. By: Edward D. Chapin and Charles H. FieldColumn Editor: Benjamin Coughlan In January 2018, a three-person FINRA arbitration panel awarded almost $2.2 million to a local San Diegan on claims that a local brokerage firm and its stockbroker had recommended an imprudent investment strategy, churned the account, and committed fraud. The award in Donna Gambee v. David…
The City of Winchester may join Alexandria and Dickenson County as another Virginia locality suing the pharmaceutical industry for its alleged role in creating a nationwide opioid epidemic. This is after a council meeting Tuesday, during which a representative from the New York based law firm explained the case his firm and two others are making. associate Andrew Miller outlined…
Retaliation is generally understood as punishment for taking an action or making a statement. Employees often are aware that they have some protections against retaliation by their employers, but are not clear on what protections the law provides. The short answer is that the law generally protects employees from retaliation only for conduct or activities that the law specifically recognizes…
The Customs and Border Protection (“CBP”) administer customs laws and collects antidumping duties to prevent foreign companies from saturating U.S. markets with below-cost products. These laws require importers to carefully classify and disclose the goods imported to the United States. Because most disclosures are only subject to the “honor-system” importers may mislabel or misrepresent the quality and value of their…
It’s no secret that Medicare fraud wastes tons of taxpayer money and inflates everyone’s healthcare bills. However, many may not realize that providers may comply with the expected medical standard of care yet still commit Medicare fraud by overbilling for those services. One of a myriad of examples where providers overbill Medicare for services—even those properly administered and medically necessary—is…
In the realm of financial services, unknowing investors often fall victim to various securities fraud schemes, and one of the more common ones is the “pump and dump.” “Pump and dump” schemes are often associated with penny stock fraud and microcap fraud and are serious violations of the law. The “pump and dump” is a real-life example of the saying…
The old adage that “the penny matchmaker is a millionaire today” applies to the False Claims Act case I filed on behalf of David Sherwin against Office Depot in 2009.  Mr. Sherwin was an Office Depot Account Representative who was responsible for responding to the needs of Office Depot’s municipal, county, and state government clients around the country. These entities’ contract provided…
During the United States Supreme Court October Term 2017, the Court delivered a 1-2 punch against workers and their right to earn overtime pay with its decisions in Encino Motorcars, LLC v. Navarro et al. and Epic Systems Corp v. Lewis (decided together with Ernst & Young, LLP et al, v. Morris et al., and National Labor Relations Board v. Murphy Oil USA, Inc., et al.,).…
In United States ex rel. Martin v. Life Care Ctrs. of Am., Inc., 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 142660 (E.D. Tenn. Sept. 29, 2014)., a federal district court agreed with the United States Government that statistical evidence could be used to prove the nature and extent of the harm in the False Claims Act matter. It seems that the defense bar is…