Gregory M. Luce

Mr. Luce focuses on the counseling and defense of health care providers, suppliers, pharmaceutical companies and physicians under state and federal fraud and abuse laws and the False Claims Act, as well as on the design and implementation of compliance programs. In addition, he represents numerous health care providers and corporations in response to civil and criminal investigations under the provisions of the False Claims Act and other statutes. A significant aspect of his practice includes advising clients on voluntary disclosure of statutory and regulatory violations to appropriate government agencies.

Mr. Luce has been recognized as a leading lawyer by Chambers USA: America’s Leading Lawyers for Business (Nationwide — Health Care; District of Columbia — top tier for Health Care) and The Best Lawyers in America. He also was named as a BTI Client Service All-Star in 2020 and previously as one of Law360’s Health MVPs.

Representative Reported Matters

• United States v. KCI, Inc. (2019) (motion for summary judgment granted in a 2008 action brought by a whistleblower against Kinetic Concepts, Inc. and KCI USA, Inc.). The Daily Journal named this decision one of the Top Defense Verdicts of 2019.
• United States ex rel. Ruckh v. Salus Rehabilitation, LLC, 304 F. Supp. 3d 1258 (M.D. Fla. 2018) (reversing a $350 million jury verdict against defendants).
• United States ex rel. Godecke v. Kinetic Concepts, Inc., No. 2:08-cv-06403-CAS-AGR, ECF No. 283 (C.D. Cal. Aug. 21, 2017) (dismissing False Claims Act qui tam suit).
• United States ex rel. Gravett v. The Methodist Medical Center of Illinois, et al., C.D. Ill. (2015) (dismissing False Claims Act qui tam suit).
• United States ex rel. McMullen v. Ascension Health, et al., M.D. Tenn. (2013) (dismissing False Claims Act qui tam suit).
• United States ex rel. Baker v. Community Health Systems, Inc., et al., D.N.M. (2013) (award of sanctions and attorneys fees against U.S. Dept. of Justice for spoliation of evidence)
• United States ex rel. Meyer v. Horizon Health Corp., 565 F.3d 1195 (9th Cir. 2009) (dismissing for lack of subject matter jurisdiction a qui tam action brought under the federal False Claims Act after concluding that the plaintiffs/relators in the action did not qualify as “original sources” of the information underlying their allegations, as required by the False Claims Act).
• Stalley v. Mountain States Health Alliance, et al., 517 F.3d 911 (6th Cir. 2008) (granting attorney’s fees and sanctions following dismissal of plaintiff’s allegations relating to Medicare’s secondary payor law).
• United States v. Catholic Health Initiatives, 509 F.3d 517 (8th Cir. 2007) (affirming district court’s dismissal of a qui tam complaint for plaintiff’s lack of standing under pertinent Medicare statute and regulations).
• United States ex rel. King v. Alcon Laboratories, Inc., 232 F.R.D. 568 (N.D. Tex. 2005) (dismissing complaint pursuant to F.R.C.P. 9(b) for failure to describe with particularity the alleged fraudulent scheme).
• Robert Wood Johnson Univ. Hosp., Inc. v. Thompson, No. 04-CV-142 (JWB), 2004 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 8498 (D. N.J. April 15, 2004) (permanently enjoining the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ implementation of a hospital Demonstration Project for violating the Civil Monetary Penalties Statute).
• United States ex rel. King v. Hillcrest Health Center, 264 F.3d 1271 (10th Cir. 2001) (upholding the district court’s judgment dismissing federal False Claims Act action for lack of subject matter jurisdiction).
• United States ex rel. Cox v. Iowa Health System, 29 F. Supp.2d 1022 (S.D. Iowa 1998) (granting defendants’ motions to dismiss a qui tam complaint for failure to state a cause of action and one of the early FCA cases).

Recent Speeches

• American Health Lawyers Association’s Physicians and Hospitals Law Institute’s “Legal Ethics,” February 8, 2018
• Skadden webinar “False Claims Act Developments: What to Consider When the Government Declines Intervention,” September 14, 2017
• Skadden seminar “Managing Risk in the Whistleblower Nation,” April 12, 2016
• American Bar Association’s “Health Care Fraud 2014,” May 14-16, 2014
• The American Law Institute’s “False Claims Act Institute,” May 13, 2014
• The American Health Lawyers Association’s “Healthcare Transactions Program,” April 10-11, 2014