If Everything Matters, Nothing Does: Parsing Materiality in FCA Disputes

Host Jonathan Porter welcomes Husch Blackwell attorney Kip Randall to the podcast to discuss the beguiling notion of materiality in the context of False Claims Act litigation. Kip and Jonathan draw from case law to illustrate how courts have construed the materiality standard, including the court’s analysis in a seminal Fourth Circuit case that looked to the essence of what the underlying contract was meant to accomplish and how the contractor was perceived to perform within that context. Kip and Jonathan then apply the materiality standard to a range of hypothetical scenarios, including disputes concerning novel areas like cybersecurity services. The conversation also dives into the broader concept of materiality and how difficult it is to apply in a standardized way across agencies, providing ample room for defense counsel to aggressively argue materiality issues in FCA litigations.Jonathan Porter BiographyFull BiographyJonathan focuses on white collar criminal defense, federal investigations brought under the False Claims Act, and litigation against the government and whistleblowers, where he uses his experience as a former federal prosecutor to guide clients in sensitive and enterprise-threatening litigation. At the Department of Justice, Jonathan earned a reputation as a top white collar prosecutor and trial lawyer and was a key member of multiple international healthcare fraud takedowns and high-profile financial crime prosecution teams. He serves as a vice chair of the American Health Law Association’s Fraud and Abuse Practice Group and teaches white collar crime as an adjunct professor of law at Mercer University School of Law.Kip Randall BiographyFull BiographyKip is a member of Husch Blackwell’s White Collar, Internal Investigations, & Compliance team and counsels corporate and individual clients through internal investigations and those embroiled in government investigations, including those with the Department of Justice (DOJ), Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Internal Revenue Service (IRS). He also maintains an active commercial litigation practice in a variety of matters, including class actions, business disputes, and product liability matters, among other areas.