The Latest on Zafirov and the Future of Qui Tams

Host Jonathan Porter welcomes Husch Blackwell partner Jody Rudman back to the podcast to discuss recent oral arguments in an appeal into whether the False Claims Act’s qui tam provisions are unconstitutional. Our conversation starts with an overview of qui tams and the role whistleblowers play in the False Claims Act litigation process. We examine the unique role that whistleblowers can play—standing in the shoes of the government and litigating as though they are the government—and how that differs from other whistleblower programs run by the federal government.Our conversation then turns to the case of United States ex rel. Zafirov v. Florida Medical Associates, LLC, in which a federal judge ruled that qui tams are unconstitutional. We discuss the judge’s constitutional concerns with qui tams in that opinion. We also examine how Zafirov has been appealed to the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals, where a three-judge panel heard argument on December 12, 2025, on whether qui tams are indeed unconstitutional. Our discussion analyzes the questions asked by the three-judge panel and how those questions might inform the direction the court takes.We conclude with a discussion of what might happen next, and how other circuits have similar cases pending that call into question the qui tam provision of the False Claims Act. We look at how these cases might make their way to the U.S. Supreme Court and their potential impact on False Claims Act enforcement.Jonathan Porter | Full BiographyJonathan focuses on white collar criminal defense, federal investigations brought under the False Claims Act, and litigation against the government and whistleblowers, using 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.Jody Rudman | Full BiographyJody serves as the Office Managing Partner for Husch Blackwell’s Austin office and leads the firm’s White Collar, Internal Investigations & Compliance practice group. She also heads up the firm’s False Claims Act working group. Jody has assisted clients across a wide range of industries with investigations, negotiations, mediations, pretrial matters, grand jury proceedings, civil lawsuits, criminal indictments, jury trials, sentencings, and appeals. She has tried dozens of jury and bench trials in the federal and state courts, argued before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, and appeared before the U.S. Supreme Court. Prior to entering private practice, Jody served as a federal prosecutor for the Northern District of Texas and was appointed by the Texas Attorney General to spearhead high-profile charitable trust and healthcare litigation matters for the State of Texas.