Order Correcting Opinion – Rehearing Denial Order

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7^th Circuit Court of Appeals

Case Name: United States of America, et al., v. Molina Healthcare of Illinois, Inc., et al.,

Case No.: 20-2243

Officials: SYKES, Chief Judge, and WOOD and HAMILTON, Circuit Judges.

Focus: Order Correcting Opinion – Rehearing Denial Order

Defendants-Appellees filed a petition for rehearing and rehearing en banc on September 2, 2021. All judges on the original panel have voted to deny rehearing and a majority of judges in active service have voted to deny rehearing en banc, with the following amendments to the opinion: On page 14 of the Slip Opinion, the first full paragraph is amended to remove: “and so Molina is mistaken when it suggests that the implied version requires express representations about the goods or services to be provided. Material omissions can suffice.” The final sentence of the amended paragraph now reads: “Implied and express statements raise distinct issues, however.”

On page 15 of the Slip Opinion, the final sentence of the carryover paragraph is amended to read: “The complaint must include specific allegations that show that the omission in context significantly affected the government’s actions.” On page 29 of the Slip Opinion (Dissent of Chief Judge Sykes), the first paragraph after “C. Implied False Certification” is amended to remove: “That is, the majority simply states, without explanation, that material omissions are implied false certifications. Majority op. at 14 (‘Material omissions can suffice.’)” In the same paragraph, the final sentence is amended to read: “That approach cannot be squared with Escobar’s requirements for this type of FCA claim.” IT IS HERBY ORDERED that the petition for panel rehearing and rehearing en banc is DENIED. IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that this court’s opinion issued August 19, 2021, is amended as indicated in this order in a separately filed opinion issued November 15, 2021.

Petition denied
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Derek A Hawkins is Corporate Counsel, at Salesforce.