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Whistleblowers v. fraudsters: False Claims Act being used in health care field
In 2005, Tuomey Healthcare System, a hospital in Sumter, offered orthopedic surgeon Michael Drakeford a pretty sweet deal—for each outpatient procedure Drakeford referred, the hospital would pay him well in excess of fair market value so long as he agreed not to make any referrals to competing locations. All of the other doctors in Drakeford’s […]
Tort/Negligence – Fraud – Statute of Frauds – Real Property Sale – Reasonable Reliance – Attorney’s Fees
Chatterjee v. Ivory (Lawyers Weekly No. 012-194-16, 11 pp.) (Mark Davis, J.) Appealed from Halifax County Superior Court (Walter Godwin Jr., J.) N.C. App. Unpub. Holding: Even though the parties only had an oral agreement that defendant would repay plaintiff the $27,000 he paid to buy a home for plaintiff, since plaintiff made a showing […]
Criminal Practice – Safecracking – Fraudulent vs. Surreptitious Means – Jury Instructions – Plain Error
State v. Ross (Lawyers Weekly No. 011-335-16, 13 pp.) (Chris Dillon, J.) Appealed from Cumberland County Superior Court (Ola Lewis, J.) N.C. App. Holding: Trying to open a safe by using a fraudulently acquired combination – as alleged in the indictment – is one type of safecracking; trying to open a safe with a combination […]
Securities – Fraud Claim – Scienter – Insufficient Allegations – Contract Renewal Announcement
Ash v. PowerSecure International, Inc. (Lawyers Weekly No. 002-021-16, 12 pp.) (James Dever, C.J.) 4:14-cv-00092; E.D.N.C. Holding: Plaintiffs’ complaint alleges that defendant Hinton announced that an important customer had “renewed” the defendant-company’s contract when in fact the new contract was significantly different and introduced inefficiencies into the company’s operations. Ins[...]
Document dispute proves fatal for fiduciary duty, fraud claims
Typically, when someone puts information down in writing and then submits it to the government, they can be held responsible for whatever is in the document in question. But a recent summary judgment decision by Judge Louis Bledsoe of the North Carolina Business Court shows that’s not always the case. Bledsoe’s decision came in a […]
Criminal Practice – Controller’s Accounting Fraud Conviction Upheld
U.S. v. Rand (Lawyers Weekly No. 001-138-16, 36 pp.) (Gregory, J.) No. 15-4322, Aug. 26, 2016; USDC at Charlotte, N.C. (Conrad, J.) 4th Cir. Holding: Although the government, in its retrial of a home-building company’s controller for accounting fraud, dropped earlier charges due to the unreliability of a computer forensics expert’s estimation of the number […]
Tort/Negligence – Fraud – Changed Theories – Car Repair
Nereim v. Cummins (Lawyers Weekly No. 012-139-16, 14 pp.) (Linda McGee, C.J.) Appealed from Mecklenburg County Superior Court (Lisa Bell, J.) N.C. App. Unpub. Holding: In his complaint, plaintiff alleged fraud based on allegations that the auto repair shop defendants – along with plaintiff’s insurer – intentionally underestimated the costs to repair plaintiff’s BMW in […]
Former lawyer who survived suicide attempt is sentenced
NEW YORK (AP) — A one-time corporate lawyer who cheated friends and relatives of life savings in a $5 million Ponzi scheme before writing a 16-page suicide note and jumping into the Hudson River was sentenced Thursday to five years in prison as former friends watched with content at the severity of his penalty. U.S. […]
Auto dealership wins fraud suit
A plaintiff’s allegation that a Charlotte car dealership sold her a lemon didn’t get her very far with the judge and jury, and her claims of fraud and misrepresentation, among others, netted her nothing. Attorney Adam Hocutt of the Dozier Miller Law Group in Charlotte reported the May 11 defense verdict for his client, Queen […]
Judge considering whether to release Conn before trial
LEXINGTON, Ky. (AP) — A globe-trotting Kentucky lawyer at the center of an alleged scheme to defraud the federal government of more than $600 million in federal disability payments was described by prosecutors on Thursday as flight risk who should stay locked up while awaiting trial. Testifying at Eric C. Conn’s detention hearing, FBI special […]
Civil Practice – Fraudulent Transfer – ‘Reasonably Equivalent Value’ – First Impression
DWC3, Inc. v. Kissel (Lawyers Weekly No. 012-061-16, 14 pp.) (Martha Geer, J.) Appealed from Iredell County Superior Court (Lisa Bell & Tanya Wallace, JJ.) N.C. App. Unpub. Holding: Despite defendants’ argument that, pursuant to G.S. § 52-10, “love and affection” can account for adequate consideration in a conveyance of land from one spouse to […]
Trial under way in $100 million lawsuit against Venezuela
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — A federal trial over a $100 million investors’ lawsuit against Venezuela includes allegations of fraud, hints of an international criminal conspiracy, and references to diamonds, German junk bonds and a mysterious house fire in Switzerland. At issue in the 2004 complaint are three-decade old promissory notes issued by a now-defunct government-sponsored […]
Top Legal News
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- VIDEO: 5 Questions With … Jan E. Pritchett
- Conflicted Appeals Court affirms removal of Superior Court clerk
- NC transgender health case might go to high court
- Murdaugh pleads guilty to financial crimes
- Alabama redistricting case before Supreme Court
- Band leader: ‘Doing my job’ when arrested
- Court orders part of abortion referendum rewritten
- VIDEO: Counsel’s focus firmly set on reproductive rights
- Lawsuit faults Google Maps in deadly crash
Commentary
- Amotion sees resurgence after almost a decade
- The flip side of generative AI in law and how to address it
- The fight for equal educational opportunity continues
- Court’s term was rough on big business
- Ex-president, bar association have made their choice
- Ruling sharpens boundaries in attorney-client privilege
- Lawyers Weekly debuts new and improved web experience
- US Supreme Court bites back at parody’s use of the First Amendment
- Supreme Court leaves key internet protection untouched
- Case study: North Carolina courts provide guidance on scope, limitations of attorney-client privilege
- A Different Ode to Pro Bono Work
- A roadmap to attracting, developing, retaining great associates
