Medicare Set Aside and MMSEA Section 111 Legal Cases - U.S. v. Stricker

Blackburn Group, Inc. MSA and MMSEA Section 111 Legal Cases - U.S. v. Stricker, CV 09-BE-2423-E, 2010 WL 6599489 (D. N.D. Ala., September 30, 2010)

In December of 2009, Medicare filed a lawsuit (U.S. v. Stricker) in Federal District Court where it sued the plaintiff law firms, the defendant corporations and their insurance carriers for their alleged failure to protect its interests regarding conditional payments in connection with a tort settlement in 2003. As part of this action, Medicare claimed double damages against the primary payers.

This case was ultimately dismissed on the technical grounds of statute of limitations. The court applied the statute of limitations contained in the Federal Claims Collection Act and ruled that a three year statute of limitations governed Medicare's action against the primary payers, and that a six year statute of limitations applied in regard to the plaintiff law firms. Based on the facts, the court found that Medicare failed to file its action within the applicable statute of limitations.