Opinion
No. CV 08-3411 WHA
11-01-2011
UNITED STATES ex rel. BONNIE LAMMERS, M.D., Plaintiff and Relator, v. MICHAEL HEBRARD, M.D.; RICHARD LAVIGNA, D.P.M., FARIDEH HEIDAPOUR; ALI HEIDAPOUR; ADVANCED PHYSICAL MEDICINE & REHAB GROUP, INC.; ADVANCED OCCUPATIONAL REHABILITATION, INC.; ADVANCED MEDICINE AND REHABILITATION OF TEXAS, INC.; ADVANCED MEDICINE AND REHABILITATION OF TEXAS, P.A.; and A.B.C. BILLING, INC. Defendants.
Respectfully submitted, TONY WEST Assistant Attorney General MELINDA HAAG United States Attorney JULIE A. ARBUCKLE Assistant United States Attorney Attorneys for the United States
TONY WEST
Assistant Attorney General
MELINDA HAAG (CABN 132612)
United States Attorney
JO ANN M. SWANSON (CABN 88143)
Chief, Civil Division
JULIE A. ARBUCKLE (CABN 193425)
MELANIE L. PROCTOR (CABN 228971)
Assistant United States Attorneys
JOYCE R. BRANDA
RENEEBROOKER
ALAN GALE
U.S. Department of Justice
Attorneys for the United States of America
UNITED STATES' NOTICE OF
ELECTION TO INTERVENE;
[PROPOSED] ORDER
FILED UNDER SEAL
1. Pursuant to the False Claims Act, 31 U.S.C. § 3730(b)(2) and (4), the United States notifies the Court that it hereby intervenes in this action against Defendants Michael Hebrard, M.D., Richard Lavigna, D.P.M., Farideh Heidarpour, Ali Heidarpour, Advanced Physical Medicine & Rehab Group, Inc., Advanced Occupational Rehabilitation, Inc., Advanced Medicine and Rehabilitation of Texas, Inc., and Advanced Medicine and Rehabilitation of Texas, P.A. The United States also hereby adds A.B.C. Billing, Inc. as a Defendant in this action, and will include A.B.C. Billing, Inc. and the United States' claims against A.B.C. Billing, Inc. in the Complaint the United States intends to file pursuant to Paragraph 4 below.
2. This case is currently under seal through today, October 31, 2011, pursuant to the False Claims Act and order of this Court.
3. The United States requests that the following be unsealed: (a) the Complaint filed by Relator Bonnie Lammers, M.D., on July 15, 2008; (b) this notice of intervention and accompanying order; and (c) all future filings in this case. All other contents of the Court's file in this matter (including, but not limited to, any applications filed by the United States for an extension of the sixty-day investigative period or for any other reason) should remain under seal and not be made public or served upon Defendants.
4. The United States intends to file a motion or stipulation requesting to stay this action until conclusion of the related criminal case pending in the Western District of Oklahoma, Case No. CR 11-109 M, which is currently set for trial in May 2012. Unless this action is stayed, the United States also intends to file its own Complaint and serve it within 120 days (by February 28, 2012), as provided in Fed. R. Civ. P. 4.
5. We request that the initial case management conference be set at least two months after February 28, 2012, so that prior to the conference, the parties have adequate time to confer regarding any Complaint the United States has filed, scheduling, motions, discovery, and other case management issues.
Respectfully submitted,
TONY WEST
Assistant Attorney General
MELINDA HAAG
United States Attorney
JULIE A. ARBUCKLE
Assistant United States Attorney
Attorneys for the United States
[PROPOSED] ORDER
Having considered the United States' Notice of Election to Intervene, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that:
1. All current contents of the Court's file in this action shall remain under seal and not be made public or served upon the Defendants, except for the Complaint, this Order, and the accompanying United States' Notice of Election to Intervene, which are hereby unsealed.
2. The seal is lifted as to all matters occurring in this action after the date of this Order.
3. The United States shall promptly serve Defendants with a copy of this Order and the United States' Notice of Election to Intervene, and unless this action is stayed, shall serve Defendants with the United States' Complaint by February 28, 2012, in accordance with Fed.R.Civ.P. 4.
4. The November 17, 2011 case management conference shall be rescheduled to May 10, 2012 at 11 :00 a.m.
IT IS SO ORDERED.
HONORABLE WILLIAM ALSUP
United States District Judge