Judge Denies DePuy's Motion to Dismiss Claims in Mass. Federal Pinnacle Hip FCA Action

BOSTON - A Massachusetts federal judge has refused to dismiss claims that DePuy Orthopaedics Inc. and Johnson & Johnson violated the False Claims Act by causing doctors to seek government reimbursement for latently defective versions of their Pinnacle hip replacement device.

In a Jan. 17 text order, Judge of the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts denied the motion without prejudice, holding that the arguments should be advanced in a motion for summary judgment at the conclusion of discovery.

The relators, Drs. Antoni Nargol and Robert Langton, alleged that in 2000, defendants made a series of false statements …