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WITNESSES HOSPITAL NEGLIGENCE


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for each fraudulent claim presented to an insurance company by a defendant and not for each violation. This had the effect of greatly increasing the penalties and damages recoverable by the insurer against fraudulent claimants.


The practice of section 1871.7 As attorneys that practice in this area


know well, false-claims actions are a pro- cedural minefield. One wrong procedural step, such as failing to file the initial complaint under seal, and the relator may become jurisdictionally barred from pursuing his or her qui tam case in any forum. As with actions filed under the Federal or California False Claims Act, there are issues such as of intervention, first-to-file, and original source. The “whistleblower” provisions are


contained in subsections (e)-(h) of § 1871.7. The relator, known under this statute as the “interested person,” may bring an action on behalf of the person and for the State of California. (§ 1871.7, subd. (e)(1).) To commence an action under this code section, the attorney for the interested person (aka the relator), files the original complaint in camera and under seal with the court. Simultaneously, the attorney serves


on both the district attorney and the insurance commissioner, a copy of the complaint and a written disclosure


containing all of the material evidence and information in the relator’s posses- sion. (§ 1871.7, subd. (e)(2).) The district attorney or the insur-


ance commissioner has 60 days to decide whether or not to intervene in the matter. (Ibid.) As in all false claims cases, the government may ask for addi- tional extensions to the 60-day seal and they are often routinely granted by the court. (§ 1871.7, subd. (e)(3).) [Practitioners should note that since the length a case has been on a court’s cal- endar is often used to evaluate judicial performance, especially in California state courts, and to move congested cal- endars along, many state and federal judges are beginning to resist automati- cally extending the seal without a show- ing for cause.] Before the seal expires, the district


attorney or the insurance commissioner may elect to intervene in the matter. If the state authorities decide to proceed with the action, they have the primary responsibility for conducting the action. (§ 1871.7, subd. (e)(4)(A).) However, the interested party or relator still has the right to continue as a party to the action subject to certain restrictions. (§ 1871.7, subd. (f)(1).) The governmental authority that intervenes in the case has the sole right to dismiss, settle or otherwise dis- pose of the case only subject to allowing


Survival — continued from Previous Page


PLAINTIFF...


...OR DEFENSE


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