ACLJ Files Appeal Brief in FederalAppealsCourt in MassiveFraudCaseagainstPlannedParenthoodAffiliatesinCalifornia

WASHINGTON--(Business Wire)--
The American Center for Law and Justice (ACLJ) today filed, in the United States
Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, the ACLJ`s opening appeal brief in a
multi-million dollar fraud case against Planned Parenthood (PP) affiliates in
California. ACLJ attorneys are representing a former employee of the PP
affiliate in Los Angeles, who is now a federal whistleblower. A federal district
court in California had dismissed the case, and ACLJ attorneys are seeking to
have the lawsuit reinstated.

The federal False Claims Act (FCA) forbids government contractors from
submitting "false or fraudulent" claims for payment. The FCA also authorizes
private individuals to bring suit against the offenders to recover the
fraudulently obtained funds.

The allegation in this case is that PP affiliates in California illegally marked
up the supposed cost of various birth control drugs when seeking government
reimbursement, resulting in tens of millions of dollars of overbilling - at
taxpayer expense.

"No one should be permitted to scam the public treasury for profit," said Jay
Sekulow, Chief Counsel of the ACLJ. "The FCA was designed to remedy such illegal
runs on taxpayer money."

When the former PP staffer sued the PP affiliates in federal court, charging the
defendants with having fraudulently overbilled the state and federal governments
in the amount of tens of millions of dollars, the prominent law firm of Skadden,
Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP began representing the PP defendants in the case
for free. The Skadden attorneys asked the federal district court to dismiss the
case on technical jurisdictional grounds.

The federal district court accepted the Skadden arguments in part, and dismissed
the case. ACLJ attorneys then entered the case to handle the appeal.

"The basic question at this point is whether the former PP employee is a proper
whistleblower under the False Claims Act," said Sekulow. "The answer is `Yes.`
The ACLJ brief dissects and refutes the arguments of PP`s attorneys point by
point, explaining why the court of appeals should reverse the lower court`s
judgment and reinstate the lawsuit."

You can read the ACLJ brief here:
http://www.aclj.org/media/pdf/Gonzalez_Brief_for_Appellants_No_09-55010.pdf.

Led by Chief Counsel Jay Sekulow, the American Center for Law and Justice
focuses on constitutional law and is based in Washington, D.C. The ACLJ is
online at www.aclj.org.

American Center for Law and Justice
For print, contact:
Gene Kapp, 757-575-9520
or
For broadcast, contact:
Christy Lynn Wilson or Todd Shearer, 770-813-0000
or
Visit ACLJ Newsroom:www.DeMossNewsPond.com/aclj

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