Foglia v. Renal Ventures Management, LLC

830 F. Supp. 2d 8, 2011 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 135231, 2011 WL 5882020
CourtDistrict Court, D. New Jersey
DecidedNovember 23, 2011
DocketCiv. A. No. 09-1552 (NLH) (AMD)
StatusPublished
Cited by13 cases

This text of 830 F. Supp. 2d 8 (Foglia v. Renal Ventures Management, LLC) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, D. New Jersey primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Foglia v. Renal Ventures Management, LLC, 830 F. Supp. 2d 8, 2011 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 135231, 2011 WL 5882020 (D.N.J. 2011).

Opinion

OPINION

HILLMAN, District Judge.

This matter involves a qui tam claim under the False Claims Act (“FCA”), 31 U.S.C. § 3729 et seq., arising out of allegedly fraudulent claims for Medicare funds. Presently before the Court is a motion for partial judgment on the pleadings pursuant to Fed.R.Civ.P. 12(c) filed by Defendant, Renal Ventures Management, LLC.1 The Court has considered the parties’ submissions, and for the reasons that follow Defendant’s motion for partial judgment on the pleadings is granted in part and denied in part.

I. BACKGROUND

Defendant is a dialysis care services company that provides all forms of dialysis care for patients with end-stage renal disease. (Am. Compl. ¶ 2.) Defendant’s services include in-hospital and outpatient hemodialysis, peritoneal dialysis, home dialysis and a transplant referral program. (Id.) Defendant operates numerous dialysis centers in New Jersey, Texas, Iowa, Arkansas, and Pennsylvania. (Id.) Defendant is responsible for “all management, and training, including the acquisition of all equipment, technology, supplies, employee benefits and administrative services, including all back-office operations, which include all billing and collection functions.” (Id. at ¶ 3.) One of Defendant’s dialysis centers is known as the Renal Center of Sewell, LLC and is located in Sewell, New Jersey. (Id. at ¶ 2.)

Relator Thomas G. Foglia alleges that he was a registered nurse who began employment at Defendant’s Sewell, New Jersey dialysis center on March 13, 2007. (Id. at ¶ 1.) Relator’s employment was terminated on November 7, 2008, allegedly in retaliation for Relator’s complaints about purported illegal conduct by Defendant. (Id. at ¶¶ 1, 40-41.) Relator contends that during his employment he observed a number of violations of state law as set forth herein. (Id. at ¶ 8.)

In the amended complaint, Relator avers that Defendant was required, pursuant to [11]*11certain administrative regulations promulgated by the State of New Jersey, to staff its dialysis centers with at least one registered nurse for every nine patients receiving dialysis services on the premises and at least one registered nurse, licensed practical nurse or trained patient care technician for every three patients receiving dialysis services. (Am. Compl. ¶¶ 6-7.) Relator alleges that he observed on a “recurring and routine” basis that the ratio of registered nurses to patients failed to comply with the New Jersey administrative regulations,2 and that Defendant failed to comply with other state regulations such as an illegal staff-to-patient ratio.3 (Id. at ¶ 8.) The other alleged violations Plaintiff observed include Defendant’s failure to check a reverse osmosis water system on May 30, 2008, a patient receiving dialysis on August 22, 2008 without having been medically cleared by a doctor, patients having- received dialysis on August 25, 2008 and October 1, 2008 with unarmed air detectors, and an unlicensed person administering medications on October 17, 2008.4 (Id.) Additionally, Relator contends that the dialysis unit in Sewell is mandated and licensed to operate with a maximum of eighteen patients but purportedly routinely operates with twenty-two to twenty-three patients on the floor. (Id.)

In addition to the foregoing, Relator contends that Defendant improperly used and billed for a drug called Zemplar, a prescription medication administered by injection, which is a “metabolically active form of Vitamin D used for the prevention and treatment of secondary hyperparathyroidism associated with chronic kidney disease[.]” (Am. Compl. ¶¶ 9, 17, 26.) Relator avers that Zemplar is available as a sterile, colorless aqueous solution for intravenous injection in 2 meg, 5 meg or 10 meg vials, and Defendant purportedly orders and stocks only the 5 meg vials. (Id. at ¶ 10.) Relator asserts that both the drug manufacturer and the Food and Drug Administration “clinically recommend[] and direct[ ]” that when the contents of a vial are not completely used, the remaining drug should be discarded. (Id. at ¶ 12.) Relator contends that Defendant has disregarded this recommendation and administers leftover Zemplar to patients rather than using a new vial of Zemplar each time the drug is administered. (See id. at ¶ 26.)

On April 1, 2009, Plaintiff brought suit in this Court individually and in the name of the United States, the -State of New Jersey, and the State of Texas under the federal FCA and the qui tarn provisions in 31 U.S.C. § 3730(b). On September 23, 2009, the State of Texas- declined to intervene in this matter. The United States declined to intervene on September 24, 2009, and the State of New Jersey declined intervention on November 4, 2009. Relator filed an amended, redacted complaint on May 12, 2010. The amended complaint contains four counts: Count I alleges a violation of the federal FCA, Count II alleges a violation of the New Jersey False Claims Act, Count III alleges a violation of the Texas Medicaid Fraud Prevention Act, and Count IV alleges a violation of the [12]*12New Jersey Conscientious Employee Protection Act, N.J.SA. 34:19-1 et seq., based on Relator’s alleged retaliatory discharge for complaining about Defendant’s purported illegal conduct.

Relator has three theories of liability underlying his false claim allegations. One theory of liability is predicated on Relator’s contention that Defendant received government funds but failed to comply with applicable New Jersey regulations concerning adequate staffing of dialysis facilities. A second, related theory of liability is that Defendant receives government funds but failed to comply with certain quality of care drug use standards requiring one time use of vials containing Zemplar. Relator’s third theory of liability is also based on Defendant’s administration of Zemplar, as Relator contends that Defendant gave patients unused portions of previously-opened vials of the drug but sought reimbursement for each vial that should have been or could have been used based on the prescribed doses. According to Relator, Defendant submitted claims for reimbursement to federal payors, such as Medicare or Medicaid, for up to fifty vials of Zemplar per day when only twenty-nine to thirty-five vials were actually used. (Am. Compl. ¶ 20.)5

II. DISCUSSION

A. Subject Matter Jurisdiction

This Court has jurisdiction over Relator’s federal claims under 28 U.S.C. § 1331, and may exercise supplemental jurisdiction over Relator’s related state law claim under 28 U.S.C. § 1367.

B. Standard for Judgment on the Pleadings

A Rule 12(c) motion for judgment on the pleadings may be filed after the pleadings are closed. Fed.R.Civ.P. 12(c); Turbe v. Gov’t of V.I., 938 F.2d 427

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830 F. Supp. 2d 8, 2011 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 135231, 2011 WL 5882020, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/foglia-v-renal-ventures-management-llc-njd-2011.