Representative Engagements

• Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (ADP) in a successful motion to dismiss a major federal False Claims Act case that challenged three companies', including ADP’s, practice of retaining the interest earned on funds held from their clients that were ultimately due, and timely paid, to the government as tax payments.
• A major equipment manufacturer in a civil False Claims Act investigation by the Department of Justice and the General Services Administration Office of Inspector General, and a related Department of Justice criminal fraud investigation.
• Multiple corporations regarding False Claims Act advice in connection with applying for and retaining Small Business Administration Paycheck Protection Program loans.
• Bank of New York Mellon in federal and state False Claims Act investigations by DOJ, the New York and Virginia Attorneys General and the City of New York concerning foreign currency exchange fees in custodial accounts, as well as related litigation.
• The dismissals of state false claims act litigation against Citigroup Global Markets, Barclays and RBC Capital Markets in Illinois, New Jersey and California. The relators alleged that the banks made misrepresentations in underwriting state municipal bonds, bringing qui tam lawsuits on behalf of each state under each state’s false claims act. Citigroup was named as a defendant in all three actions; Barclays in the Illinois and New Jersey actions; and RBC in the New Jersey action. The purported whistleblowers claimed the banks defrauded each state by falsely representing that the state would obtain the best price and lowest yield for the bonds the banks underwrote and that the banks would prioritize their marketing efforts to retail investors to obtain higher prices.
• CitiMortgage, Inc. in the dismissal of a complaint filed by two qui tam relators under the False Claims Act. In February 2016, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit affirmed the district court’s dismissal of the qui tam claim, concluding that Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae were private companies and not the “federal government” for the purposes of the False Claims Act.
• JM Eagle, the world’s largest plastic pipe manufacturer, in the successful defense of federal qui tam litigation brought on behalf of dozens of state and local water districts asserting over $1 billion in potential damages regarding allegations that JM Eagle misrepresented that its PVC pipe complied with industry standards. Paul, Weiss was retained after JM Eagle was found liable on False Claims Act claims during the liability phase of the trial. At the conclusion of evidence in the bellwether damages jury trial, the court limited plaintiffs’ recovery from $58 million (before trebling and fees) to, at most, $1.2 to $2.1 million, and ultimately declared a mistrial after the jury deadlocked. Paul, Weiss subsequently moved for judgment as a matter of law, and the court granted the motion, rejecting damages and plaintiffs’ experts entirely and dismissing the case.
• Pfizer in the settlement of a False Claims Act suit brought by the Department of Justice alleging that one of its subsidiaries, Wyeth, sold Protonix Oral and Protonix IV through a bundled sales arrangement that resulted in a higher price paid by Medicaid.