Case Explained: UNITED STATES OF AMERICA and THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, EX REL. A. SAMUEL ENLOE v. HERITAGE OPERATIONS GROUP, LLC, and GREEN TREE PHARMACY, INC

Court: United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit Filed: 2026-08-17 The seventh-circuit affirmed the district court’s dismissal of A. Samuel Enloe’s False Claims Act (FCA) qui tam claims against Heritage Operations Group and Green Tree Pharmacy. The court held that Enloe failed to plead sufficient factual allegations to satisfy the heightened pleading requirements of Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 9(b) and the materiality standard required for FCA liability. The court applied the standard that an FCA plaintiff must allege with particularity that (1) the defendant made a statement to receive government money, (2) the statement was false, and (3) the defendant knew it was false. The court found Enloe’s complaint amounted to speculation resting on layers of assumptions rather than concrete factual allegations. Specifically, the court determined that Enloe failed to establish a clear violation of the Controlled Substances Act (CSA), noting that federal regulations permit pharmacists to dispense Schedule II drugs in emergency situations upon receiving oral authorization, even if the pharmacist does not immediately review the prescription. The court further ruled that Enloe failed to plead materiality under *Universal Health Services, Inc. v. United States*, as he did not allege that the government consistently refuses to pay claims based on the specific regulatory violations alleged, nor did he show that compliance with the CSA was a condition of payment that the government relied upon. As a practical consequence, Enloe’s appeal is dismissed, and the district court’s judgment dismissing his second amended complaint remains in effect. The court noted that while Enloe did not challenge the dismissal of his CSA and unjust enrichment claims on appeal, those claims were already properly dismissed because the CSA does not provide a private cause of action and the FCA failure precluded the unjust enrichment claim. Do It For The Case Law is a news reporting service. Nothing in this episode constitutes legal advice.