Dismissal of Medicare Secondary Payer Act Lawsuit

United States v. Stricker, et al. -- On August 12, 2011, the United States District Court for the Northern District of Alabama entered a final order dismissing all claims brought by the United States against all defendants arising out of the defendants' alleged failure to pay the Government's Medicare liens under the Medicare Secondary Payer Act ("MSPA").  The lawsuit arose out of well-publicized underlying litigation for personal injury, mental anguish, and property damage resulting from exposure to polychlorinated biphenyles ("PCBs") in the Anniston, Alabama area.  The underlying litigation, which involved over 3,500 individuals, was settled for $300 million in August 2003.  The Government filed the MSPA lawsuit on December 2, 2003 alleging that the underlying settlement involved approximately 907 Medicare beneficiaries and that no Medicare liens had been paid back.  Balch & Bingham LLP attorneys Teresa Minor and Todd Lowther represented the plaintiff attorneys who represented the underlying plaintiffs in the PCB litigation.  With respect to the attorney defendants, the Government claimed that the MSPA allows it to recover the full amount of its Medicare lien from attorneys who receive payment from tortfeasors but fail to use some of that money to satisfy the Medicare lien.  All of the defendants moved to dismiss the claims based on the statute of limitations.  After several rounds of briefing (including, most recently, a Motion to Reconsider and a Motion for Leave to File a Second Amended Complaint), the Court ruled in favor of the defendants and dismissed all claims.