Jack E. Fernandez and Marcos E. Hasbun Win False Claims Act Case for Solvay Pharmaceuticals

Zuckerman Spaeder LLP partners Jack E. Fernandez and Marcos E. Hasbun, of the firm’s Tampa office, recently won a victory in the Eleventh Circuit in the case of James Hopper v. Solvay Pharmaceuticals, Inc., No. 08-5810. In that case, the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit affirmed the District Court’s dismissal of a False Claims Act lawsuit filed by two former sales representatives (Relators) of Solvay Pharmaceuticals, Inc. in the United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida in 2004. The Court of Appeals ruled that the Relators’ complaint was legally deficient under Rule 9(b) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure because the alleged fraud was not pleaded with the necessary specificity. Read the full text of the opinion here.