Becker Private Equity & Business Podcast
False Claims Cases with David Pivnick of McGuireWoods LLP 5-29-25
29 May 2025
In this episode, Scott Becker talks with McGuireWoods partner David Pivnick about a major constitutional challenge to the False Claims Act, the potential impact on whistleblower lawsuits, and what it could mean for healthcare litigation and government recoveries.
Full Episode
This is Scott Becker with the Becker Private Equity and Business Podcast. We're thrilled to have recently passed 7 million downloads and been ranked at the top of the Apple Business News Rank Exist Month. And this is largely due to great listeners and great guests. One of our great guests is David Pivnik, who's a brilliant leader, lawyer, business strategist, and a lot more.
We talk to David often about leadership issues, business issues. He made his name as a top litigator handling white collar claims, often for private equity funds, but a fascinating, fascinating person. David, let me start with this. Talk to us for a second about, so what are the most interesting issues that you're following today? What's top of mind for you? What are you keeping your eyes on?
Sure, absolutely, Scott. Appreciate you having me on. You know, Business-wise, day-to-day, as you alluded to, I spend a lot of my time and energy defending False Claims Act cases, representing a wide range of providers, health systems, managed care insurers, as well as private equity funds. I often am focused on issues in that space.
One of them that is particularly notable to me right now is an 11th Circuit appeal in what's known as the Zafirop case. That is focusing on whether or not the False Claims Act and specifically its key TAM provisions allowing whistleblowers to bring lawsuits on behalf of the government is constitutional.
There's been many challenges to the constitutionality of the statute, but it hasn't been determined by the Supreme Court or really resolved with any finality. A couple of years ago in 2023, Justice Thomas issued a dissenting opinion
in a Supreme Court case where he noted that he thought it would be interesting, that there might be a challenge to the constitutionality and whether whistleblowers could proceed with claims. And I think that invited a lot of litigation.
And Zafirov is a Middle District of Florida case where the judge, who's a President Trump appointee from his first term, granted judgment for the defendant and found that the Ketan provisions were not constitutional. And that case has since been appealed. And the briefing is now completed, as of about a month ago, before the 11th Circuit.
There's been amicus briefs that were filed from a variety of constituents, including the Department of Justice and other government officials, as well as amicus briefs on the other side. So both sides have briefed this very extensively. And it'll be interesting, with the 11th Circuit weighing in on constitutionality.
And I expect fully that the issue will make its way to the Supreme Court and likely get taken up by the Supreme Court. And that would have a massive impact on False Blames Act litigation generally and specifically on whistleblower litigation. So that's something that the briefing was completed in the first five months, first four months really of this year.
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