“The bankruptcy trustee for defunct law firm Rothstein Rosenfeldt Adler contends the government has once again overstepped its bounds by trying to control additional assets that belonged to convicted fraudster Scott Rothstein. On Monday, the U.S. Attorney’s Office filed a motion seeking a protective order be entered to preserve new assets, including four Rothstein Rosenfeldt Adler bank accounts at TD Bank containing almost $120,000 and ‘all property, other than ‘funds’ voluntarily turned over to the government since news broke in late October that Rothstein was running a settlement scheme out of his law firm. But trustee Herbert Stettin argued that the government could not lay claim to assets that don’t belong to Rothstein and were not included for forfeiture in the original information, calling the motion ‘particularly egregious,’” according to Daily Business Review.

USA Today notes the Supreme Court “ruled 7-2 Tuesday to limit the grounds for some lawsuits brought by whistle-blowers claiming fraud in US health care, defense and other programs.” and that the “overall effect of the decision is likely to be narrow because Congress amended the disputed provision as part of the health care overhaul that became law March 23.” The paper describes the issue as, “the scope of the False Claims Act, first enacted during the Civil War to elicit help from ordinary citizens against contracting fraud. The new case and the recently passed legislation put a spotlight on whistle-blowers who uncover fraud through the help of state or local audits that normally would not come to the federal government’s attention.”

In the National Law Journal a more detailed analysis states that “[i]n Graham County Soil and Water Conservation District v. US ex rel. Wilson, Justice John Paul Stevens, writing for a 7-2 majority, held that whistle-blowers whose allegations are based on publicly disclosed information in state or local reports and investigations are barred from filing so-called qui tam lawsuits. The Court’s decision — which also drew the first dissenting opinion by Justice Sonia Sotomayor — said the act’s public disclosure bar was not limited to federal sources of information” but “as Stevens noted, both in his opinion and his summary on the bench, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, signed by President Barack Obama on March 23, limits the public disclosure bar to federal sources of information. The new act, however, is not retroactive, so the Court’s decision will apply to claims filed before its effective date.” As put by Bloomberg News, “business trade groups had urged the Supreme Court not to expand the False Claims Act, saying the upshot would be new burdens on companies. Lawsuits under the False Claims Act have recovered more than $24 billion since Congress strengthened the law in 1986.”

“Chrysler Group LLC said Thursday it will accept product liability claims in a broader number of cases than originally planned in its reorganization under bankruptcy protection. The automaker said it will now consider product-related lawsuits from consumers involved in accidents that occurred after Chrysler emerged from bankruptcy protection in June that involve vehicles manufactured by the old company.” Joanne Doroshow, executive director of the Center for Justice and Democracy, said Chrysler had “responded to pressure from injured victims and consumer groups and we commend them for taking this important step to protect public safety.”  The Associated Press.

Chrysler senior vice president for external affairs and public policy John Bozzella said, “While Chrysler Group still faces challenges, we are confident today that the future viability of the company will not be threatened if we assume these obligations. [Our] approach is now consistent with that taken by General Motors Co. as part of its bankruptcy process. But Chrysler will not accept liability for lawsuits filed for incidents filed before June 10.” The Detroit News.

Bloomberg reported that as part of the original bankruptcy agreement, Chrysler had “agreed to assume liability only for cars sold by the newly formed company.”

Additional articles on this topic are carried by The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times.