DOJ Memos May Change Approach To FHA Litigation, Attorneys Say
February 9, 2018
Two recent internal policy memos from the Department of Justice suggest that the agency is reevaluating its approach in two key areas of enforcement, which may significantly affect False Claims Act litigation in FHA cases. Issued last month (one was actually leaked), the memos pertain to the dismissal of frivolous whistleblower cases when the government declines to intervene, and the prohibition of DOJ attorneys relying on an entity’s noncompliance with agency guidance as presumptive or conclusive evidence that the entity violated the law. Written by Michael Granston, director of the DOJ’s Commercial Litigation Branch, Fraud Section, the leaked Jan. 10 memo directs federal prosecutors to consider dismissing meritless FCA complaints by whistleblowers when considering whether DOJ should intervene in the ...