On Monday, May 11, 2020, the California Assembly Judiciary Committee approved AB 2570 (Stone), which expands the state’s False Claims Act (FCA) to cover certain tax matters. Specifically, AB 2570 applies the FCA to claims, records, or statements made on or after January 1, 2021, under the Revenue and Taxation Code if damages pleaded
False Claims Act
Kroger False Claims Act Lawsuit Remanded to Indiana State Court for Lack of Diversity Jurisdiction
By Dmitrii Gabrielov and Jonathan Feldman
An Indiana federal court remanded a lawsuit brought under the Indiana False Claims and Whistleblower Protection Act (False Claims Act) back to Indiana state court. The relator, Michael Harmeyer, alleges that Kroger and affiliates violated the False Claims Act by failing to collect sales tax on various items at…
Citigroup False Claims Act Lawsuit Remanded to New York State Court for Lack of Federal Question Jurisdiction
By Zack Atkins and Marc Simonetti
A federal district court denied a taxpayer’s motion to dismiss a lawsuit brought under the New York False Claims Act (FCA) for lack of subject matter jurisdiction and remanded the action to state court. The relator, an Indiana University professor, alleges that Citigroup violated the FCA by deducting net…
Illinois Appellate Court Finds Retailer Not Liable Under State’s False Claims Act
By Nicole Boutros and Marc Simonetti
The Illinois Appellate Court held that a defendant out-of-state retailer was not liable under the state’s False Claims Act because it conducted a good faith inquiry into its use tax collection obligations for both its Internet and catalog sales. The defendant had franchisees operating in Illinois and sold products…
Texas and New York Whistle Different Tunes on Vanguard Whistleblower
By Samantha Trencs and Open Weaver Banks
The Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts and the New York Courts have treated a former in-house attorney turned whistleblower very differently—Texas made a substantial payment to the individual, and New York kicked him to the proverbial curb.
The Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts paid $117,000 to David Danon…
Join Sutherland and TEI for a full day SALT controversy workshop at the 2015 Audits and Appeals Seminar in San Francisco (May 19-21, 2015)
Sutherland and the Tax Executives Institute (TEI) are pleased to present this first ever full-day program dedicated to the “Theory, Strategy and Practice of State Tax Controversy” in San Francisco, California on May 21. Topics covered will include:
Continue Reading Join Sutherland and TEI for a full day SALT controversy workshop at the 2015 Audits and Appeals Seminar in San Francisco (May 19-21, 2015)
Prove It!: Illinois Cook County Circuit Court Finds That Relator Failed to Meet Burden Under the Illinois False Claims Act
By Nicole Boutros and Pilar Mata
The Illinois Cook County Circuit Court held that an Illinois law firm (the Relator) that filed a qui tam lawsuit against a taxpayer failed to meet its burden to prove the taxpayer knowingly failed to collect and remit Illinois use tax, as required under the Illinois False Claims Act.
Model Transaction Tax Overpayment Act Gains Traction at MTC
This week the Multistate Tax Commission (MTC) will consider a resolution endorsing the ABA’s model transaction tax act which, if enacted by the states, would limit frivolous lawsuits seeking to extract sales taxes from retailers and others.
View the full Legal Alert.
Chronicles of the New York False Claims Act: Lantheus and BMS Settle for $6.2 Million
By David Pope and Pilar Mata
The New York Attorney General’s office posted a press release on March 14, 2014 announcing that Lantheus Medical Imaging (Lantheus) and Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMS), Lantheus’s former parent, agreed to a $6.2 million settlement for a claim filed pursuant to New York’s False Claims Act (FCA). Under New York’s FCA…
New York Appellate Court Affirms Trial Court Ruling in Sprint False Claims Act Suit
By Zachary Atkins and Andrew Appleby
The New York Supreme Court, Appellate Division, affirmed a 2013 trial court ruling denying Sprint Nextel Corporation’s motion to dismiss the attorney general’s False Claims Act complaint. In a slip opinion, the Appellate Division concluded that N.Y. Tax Law § 1105(b)(2), which the state attorney general contends imposes tax…