In a second lawsuit involving Quest Diagnostics, the Second Circuit on Oct. 25 affirmed dismissal of a False Claims Act (FCA) case brought by the former general counsel for Unilab, a Quest subsidiary. Fair Laboratory Practices Associates (FLPA) filed the lawsuit in 2005 in the Southern District of New York against Quest and Unilab. FLPA is a general partnership formed by three former Unilab executives, including Mark Bibi, who was Unilab’s general counsel from 1993-2000. As general counsel, Bibi advised the company on a variety of matters, including its contracts, and handled all of the company’s litigation. According to Sidley Austin LLP, the law firm representing Quest, after the defendants learned that one of FLPA’s members was Unilab’s former general counsel, the district court permitted limited discovery to determine whether Bibi and FLPA had improperly used or disclosed Unilab’s confidences in bringing the lawsuit. Following discovery, the defendants moved to dismiss on grounds that Bibi had breached his ethical obligations to his former client by using and disclosing Unilab’s client confidences for his own financial benefit, thereby tainting the entire proceeding. The district court agreed and dismissed FLPA’s action. A few months later, the United States gave notice that it…
