Federal Judge Reverses Order Imposing Discovery Sanctions on Boston Scientific

MINNEAPOLIS — A Minnesota federal judge has vacated a magistrate judge’s order imposing discovery sanctions on Boston Scientific Corp. in a qui tam action accusing it of selling defective cardiac defibrillators, ruling that a hearing should be held on the issue.

On Nov. 25, Judge Joan N. Ericksen of the U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota directed Magistrate Judge Steven Rau to reconsider the relator’s motion for sanctions, noting that “sanctions should not be assessed without due process, which requires fair notice and an opportunity to be heard.”

Relator Steven Higgins initiated a qui tam action in 2011 …