Kasowitz, on Behalf of Former Attorneys General and Famed Constitutional Law Scholars, Files Amicus Brief Supporting District Court’s Ruling That False Claims Act’s Qui Tam Provisions Are Unconstitutional

On March 17, 2025, Kasowitz Benson Torres, on behalf of former U.S. Attorneys General Edwin Meese III and Michael B. Mukasey, renowned constitutional law scholars Steven G. Calabresi and Gary S. Lawson, and the Landmark Legal Foundation, filed an amicus curiae brief with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit in U.S. ex. rel. Zafirov v. Florida Medical Associates LLC.  The case stems from whistleblower Dr. Clarissa Zafirov’s lawsuit under the False Claims Act (FCA) against her employer, among others, asserting that Florida Medical Associates intentionally misrepresented patients’ medical conditions to Medicare, resulting in unnecessary medical services in an alleged fraud scheme.
 
The brief supports U.S. District Court Judge Kathryn Kimball Mizelle’s ruling that the qui tam provisions of the FCA, which allow private citizens to bring FCA lawsuits and seek financial recovery on behalf of themselves and the U.S. government, violate Article II of the U.S. Constitution.  The amici specifically argue that the qui tam provisions violate the Article II Vesting Clause, which vests all “executive Power” in the President, including the core executive function of law enforcement.  As a logical consequence of this principle--the unitary executive thesis--prosecutorial power, civil and criminal, must remain under presidential control.
 
The Kasowitz Benson Torres team representing former Attorneys General Meese and Mukasey, Professors Calabresi and Lawson, and the Landmark Legal Foundation was led by partner Amit R. Vora and includes Special Counsel Léa Dartevelle Erhel.