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§ 881

Citation
§ 881
Parent Document
United States v. Southland Management Corp., 326 F.3d 669 (2002)
Effective Date
2002-05-22
Original Source
https://www.courtlistener.com/opinion/27565/united-states-v-southland-managem... ↗

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(1981)). Based on its review of the common law, the Court
determined that “a concealment or misrepresentation is material
if it ‘has a natural tendency to influence, or was capable of
influencing, the decision of’ the decisionmaking body to which it
was addressed.” Id. at 770 (quoting Weinstock v. United States,
231 F.2d 699, 701 (D.C. Cir. 1956)). However, the reasoning
espoused by the Court in Kungys is inapplicable to the instant
case. The word “material” does not appear in the civil FCA – the
materiality requirement that courts have imposed upon the Act is
entirely implicit. Accordingly, unlike the Court in Kungys, we
cannot draw conclusions about the nature of the materiality
requirement that is implicit in the Act by relying on Congress’s
presumed invocation of the common law meaning of the word
“material.”
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        Specifically, the district court found that, given the
physical inspection reports, HUD was aware of the condition of
the Complex during the relevant time period and “would have
approved payment on the vouchers regardless of the condition of
the property.” Southland Mgmt. Corp., 95 F. Supp. 2d at 633.
The district court concluded that, for these reasons, “it follows
that defendants’ certifications were not ‘material’ to HUD’s
decision to continue housing assistance payments to defendants
pursuant to their HAP vouchers.” Id.