by Ben Vernia | January 18th, 2010
With both defense and government motions for summary judgment pending, District Judge Kenneth A. Marra in West Palm Beach, Florida, issued an order on January 5, setting the case for a bench trial on April 5, 2010. Although the docket does not reflect any decision on the summary judgment motions, they appear to have been fully briefed in mid-December, and the trial setting suggests that Judge Marra believes that the motions are unlikely to resolve the case.
In the suit, the US alleges that Christi Sulzbach, a former Associate General Counsel and Corporate Integrity Program Director at Tenet Healthcare, falsely certified the company’s compliance with obligations under a Corporate Integrity Agreement, despite knowing that physician contracts at a south Florida hospital violated the Start Statute prohibiting improper financial relationships with healthcare providers.
