U.S. ex. rel. Mikes v. Straus, 92 Civ. 2754(CM).

Citation78 F.Supp.2d 223
Decision Date10 December 1999
Docket NumberNo. 92 Civ. 2754(CM).,92 Civ. 2754(CM).
PartiesUNITED STATES ex rel. Patricia MIKES, and Patricia S. Mikes, Individually, Plaintiffs, v. Marc. J. STRAUS, Jeffrey M. Ambinder, and Eliot L. Friedman, Defendants.
CourtUnited States District Courts. 2nd Circuit. United States District Courts. 2nd Circuit. Southern District of New York

Harold R. Burke, Holland, Kaufmann & Bartels, Greenwich, CT, Philip Dale Russell, Russell & Wells, Greenwich, CT, for Plaintiff.

David J. Meiselman and Barry Cepelewicz, Meiselman, Farber, Packman & Eberz, P.C., Mt. Kisco, NY, for defendants.

ORDER DENYING RELATOR'S MOTION FOR RECONSIDERATION

McMAHON, District Judge.

On November 18, 1999, this Court dismissed Relator's claims under the False Claims Act, 31 U.S.C. § 3729 et seq., against her former employers. The facts of this case, with which familiarity is assumed, are discussed in that memorandum decision and order. Relator has moved for reconsideration pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 59(e) and Local Rule 6.3.1 The United States, which had previously declined to appear in this qui tam action, has filed a brief as amicus curiae, in which it disdains any interest in the resolution of this particular matter, but seeks clarification or reversal of certain findings allegedly made by this Court in its decision granting summary judgment to Defendants.

To prevail on a motion for reconsideration, the movant must demonstrate "an intervening change of controlling law, the availability of new evidence, or the need to correct a clear error or prevent manifest injustice." See Doe v. New York City Dept. of Soc. Servs., 709 F.2d 782, 789 (2d Cir.1983). The court's review "is narrow and applies only to already-considered issues; new arguments and issues are not to be considered." See Morales v. Quintiles Transnational Corp., 25 F.Supp.2d 369, 372 (S.D.N.Y.1998). A motion for reconsideration "is not a substitute for appeal and `may be granted only where the Court has overlooked matters or controlling decisions which might have materially influenced the earlier decision.'" See id. (citations omitted).

The Relator's motion is denied. Relator does not raise a single new argument or adduce a single additional piece of evidence. Nor does she indicate that the Court has overlooked anything in its lengthy opinion disposing of her claims. Rather, Relator argues yet again the same points she pressed (with little or no evidentiary support, despite the posture of the case) in opposition to the original motion. Relator thinks I am wrong. I think I am right. The Second Circuit will no doubt have the last word on the subject. But this busy Court hardly needs to redo work it has already done just because the losing party is dissatisfied with the result.

The United States approaches the Court far too late in the day for me to give its papers serious consideration. This action is over seven years old. The Government has repeatedly declined to intervene and take over the prosecution. When the case was reassigned to me last summer, I invited the Government to make a final decision by a date certain — before I undertook the arduous task of familiarizing myself with an extensive record and disposing of the pending summary judgment motion. The Government declined to do so. If it had something to say to me on a subject it obviously considers to be of some importance (even though it has no interest in Relator's particular situation), it should have accepted my earlier invitation. The Court would have welcomed the Government's expertise and guidance at that point. I cannot say I am happy to have it now.

The amicus brief (which, presumptuously, was not even accompanied by an application for leave to present it) asserts that the Court misapprehended two points. After reading it, and rereading my decision of November 18, I am persuaded that it is the Government that misapprehends the import of the Court's decision.

First, the Government seems to be under the misimpression that this Court ruled that the "false implied certification" doctrine precluded False Claims Act cases for Medicare items and services "not reasonably necessary" for the treatment of illness or injury. (Amicus Br. at 6.) This Court articulated no such ruling. Relator did contend in her pleading that Defendants submitted Medicare reimbursement claims for unnecessary testing, but she failed to substantiate that charge with so much as a scintilla of evidence — a fact I certainly did not "overlook" or "misapprehend" in my ruling.

The Government then cites me to Goodman v. Sullivan, 891 F.2d 449, 450 (2d Cir.1989), in which that Court noted that the Secretary of Health and Human Services has interpreted the phrase "reasonable and necessary" to preclude coverage for "unproven treatments or diagnostic methods not generally accepted by the medical profession." (Amicus Br. at 7.) No such issue was presented in this case. Relator did not contend that spirometry was an unproven treatment or a diagnostic method not generally accepted by the medical profession. She contended that Defendants did not calibrate their spirometers properly, in accordance with a particular medical society's recommendations, which she claimed was the appropriate standard of care in the profession. That is an entirely different question, and one that falls far outside the ambit of the False Claims Act, as the Seventh Circuit held in Luckey v. Baxter Healthcare Corp., 183 F.3d 730 (7th Cir.1999). The Government is correct when it states, "Neither the [Medicare] statute, regulations or the Manual purport to specify how all recognized medical procedures deemed compensable under Medicare Part B are to be performed." (Amicus Br. at 7.) It is precisely because the Secretary does not tell doctors how to perform procedures that a qui tam action brought under the False Claims Act is a particularly ill-suited vehicle for deciding how they ought to be performed.2

Whether medical providers are required to certify compliance with Medicare each time they file or just the first time they file is beside the point. The point, which the Government apparently misapprehends, is that the certifications in this case — including any pre-certification made as part of Defendants' original Health Care Provider/Supplier Application (the text of which is set out in Amicus Br. at 10) — did not, either explicitly or implicitly, suggest that the spirometry machines used to measure patients' lung function had been calibrated in accordance with standards that the Government has neither promulgated nor adopted in any statute, regulations or manual governing Medicare. I...

To continue reading

Request your trial
1 cases
  • Mikes v. Straus, PLAINTIFF-APPELLANT-CROSS-APPELLEE
    • United States
    • United States Courts of Appeals. United States Court of Appeals (2nd Circuit)
    • August 1, 2000
    ...claims with the requisite scienter. See id. at 438-39. Plaintiff's motion for reconsideration was denied. United States ex rel. Mikes v. Straus, 78 F. Supp. 2d 223, 224 (S.D.N.Y. 1999). After plaintiff's complaint had been dismissed, defendants asked for attorneys' fees pursuant to § 3730(d......

VLEX uses login cookies to provide you with a better browsing experience. If you click on 'Accept' or continue browsing this site we consider that you accept our cookie policy. ACCEPT