Business Crimes Hotline

DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA

Pfizer's Marketing of Bladder Drug Leads to Additional False Claims Act Settlement of $14.5 Million

The DOJ announced on Oct. 21 that pharmaceutical manufacturer Pfizer, Inc. had resolved the last of ten suits filed ' as early as 2003 ' in response to the company's marketing practices for its overactive bladder treatment drug Detrol, under the qui tam, or whistleblower provisions of the federal False Claims Act (FCA). Specifically, the $14.5 million settlement addressed allegations that Pfizer marketed the drug for uses that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) had not approved as safe and effective.

The government announced that it participated closely in efforts to resolve the remaining case, entitled United States ex rel.Wetherholt and Drimer v. Pfizer, as the matter was litigated independently by the relators after the government declined to intervene. The nine related suits had previously been resolved, as part of Pfizer's $2.3 billion civil and criminal settlement in 2009 that addressed several Pfizer drugs, including Detrol.

Nearly $3.3 million of the current settlement will go to the relators, per the FCA's qui tam provisions, with the remaining portion divided among the federal government (nearly $8.6 million) and participating state Medicaid programs (just over $2.6 million, collectively).

OREGON

Lowe's Reaches Settlement with DOJ in Connection With USERRA Violations

On Nov. 3, the DOJ announced that it had reached a settlement with national home center chain Lowe's, in connection with alleged violations of the Uniform Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA), the statute that protects the jobs of military servicemembers who are called away from their positions for military service. In relevant part, the USERRA requires that employers reemploy servicemembers upon their return from military service, in a position the servicemember would have attained, if not for his/her service. Under the statute, an employer is additionally required to retain the servicemember for a one-year period post-return, absent good cause for termination.

Subsequent to judicial approval, the consent decree filed along with the complaint provided for a $45,000 payment to Matthew King as compensation for both lost back pay and liquidated damages. King is an honorably discharged former member of the U.S. Army National Guard who was deployed for approximately one year to Iraq and returned back home to Oregon in May 2010. Upon his return, King initially sought unemployment benefits on the basis of his federal military discharge, but never actually received any unemployment benefits. He sought reemployment with Lowe's and was rehired there. According to the government, Lowe's fired King after learning that he had filed for unemployment benefits, though never received any such benefits, prior to being reemployed by Lowe's. After a Veterans' Employment and Training Service (VETS) investigation determined that King had been terminated without cause by Lowe's, and King was subsequently represented by the government.

In announcing the settlement, Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division, Thomas E. Perez, stated: “Our servicemembers need to know we will have their backs at home, including the right to have their job restored with their former employer when they return home after serving our country,” adding that “[t]he Justice Department will vigorously enforce the law to ensure that an individual who has sacrificed so much to serve this country has a fair opportunity to be reemployed as the law provides.”

DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA

Pfizer's Marketing of Bladder Drug Leads to Additional False Claims Act Settlement of $14.5 Million

The DOJ announced on Oct. 21 that pharmaceutical manufacturer Pfizer, Inc. had resolved the last of ten suits filed ' as early as 2003 ' in response to the company's marketing practices for its overactive bladder treatment drug Detrol, under the qui tam, or whistleblower provisions of the federal False Claims Act (FCA). Specifically, the $14.5 million settlement addressed allegations that Pfizer marketed the drug for uses that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) had not approved as safe and effective.

The government announced that it participated closely in efforts to resolve the remaining case, entitled United States ex rel.Wetherholt and Drimer v. Pfizer, as the matter was litigated independently by the relators after the government declined to intervene. The nine related suits had previously been resolved, as part of Pfizer's $2.3 billion civil and criminal settlement in 2009 that addressed several Pfizer drugs, including Detrol.

Nearly $3.3 million of the current settlement will go to the relators, per the FCA's qui tam provisions, with the remaining portion divided among the federal government (nearly $8.6 million) and participating state Medicaid programs (just over $2.6 million, collectively).

OREGON

Lowe's Reaches Settlement with DOJ in Connection With USERRA Violations

On Nov. 3, the DOJ announced that it had reached a settlement with national home center chain Lowe's, in connection with alleged violations of the Uniform Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA), the statute that protects the jobs of military servicemembers who are called away from their positions for military service. In relevant part, the USERRA requires that employers reemploy servicemembers upon their return from military service, in a position the servicemember would have attained, if not for his/her service. Under the statute, an employer is additionally required to retain the servicemember for a one-year period post-return, absent good cause for termination.

Subsequent to judicial approval, the consent decree filed along with the complaint provided for a $45,000 payment to Matthew King as compensation for both lost back pay and liquidated damages. King is an honorably discharged former member of the U.S. Army National Guard who was deployed for approximately one year to Iraq and returned back home to Oregon in May 2010. Upon his return, King initially sought unemployment benefits on the basis of his federal military discharge, but never actually received any unemployment benefits. He sought reemployment with Lowe's and was rehired there. According to the government, Lowe's fired King after learning that he had filed for unemployment benefits, though never received any such benefits, prior to being reemployed by Lowe's. After a Veterans' Employment and Training Service (VETS) investigation determined that King had been terminated without cause by Lowe's, and King was subsequently represented by the government.

In announcing the settlement, Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division, Thomas E. Perez, stated: “Our servicemembers need to know we will have their backs at home, including the right to have their job restored with their former employer when they return home after serving our country,” adding that “[t]he Justice Department will vigorously enforce the law to ensure that an individual who has sacrificed so much to serve this country has a fair opportunity to be reemployed as the law provides.”