secOn April 7, 2016, after just three hours of deliberations following a three-week trial, a federal jury dismissed False Claims Act (“FCA”) claims against Abbott Laboratories brought by a whistleblowing former employee.  The jury concluded that the company did not improperly market bile duct stents for off-label uses in vascular procedures.

The lawsuit was filed by the company’s former sales director, Kevin Colquitt, shortly after he left the company in 2006. Colquitt argued that Abbott’s improper marketing practices of using bile stents made to be inserted into bile ducts resulted in doctors submitting false claims for federal reimbursement totaling more than $219 million. While Abbott did not deny that its bile duct stents were used in vascular procedures, the company maintained that the practice was standard throughout the industry and the off-label use of the stents was actually better for patients than the alternatives.

In a 10-1 verdict, the jury found that Colquitt had not demonstrated that Abbott had engaged in any improper marketing practices in violation of the FCA and discharged the company from any liability.

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Photo of Noa Baddish Noa Baddish

Noa M. Baddish is a senior counsel in the Labor & Employment Law Department. She is a member of the Sports, Employment Litigation & Arbitration, Class and Collective Action, Wage & Hour and Whistleblower & Retaliation Practice Groups.

Noa’s practice concentrates on all…

Noa M. Baddish is a senior counsel in the Labor & Employment Law Department. She is a member of the Sports, Employment Litigation & Arbitration, Class and Collective Action, Wage & Hour and Whistleblower & Retaliation Practice Groups.

Noa’s practice concentrates on all aspects of labor and employment law. Her employment litigation practice in state and federal courts includes class and collective actions and defending claims of discrimination, harassment, breach of contract and violations of wage and hour laws. Noa represents Major League Baseball and its clubs in an ongoing litigation brought by current and former minor league players who allege minimum wage and overtime violations. In addition, Noa has represented clients in the media and entertainment and fashion industries in lawsuits brought by unpaid interns in wage and hour disputes.

Noa also provides significant assistance on counseling matters on a wide array of issues for clients in various industries, including, but not limited to, sports, law firms, financial institutions, media and fashion.

Noa has been recognized as a Rising Star by New York Super Lawyers since 2015. She has authored and contributed to several articles and newsletters on employment and labor topics, including “State Whistleblowing Laws Provide Whopping Verdicts,” New York Law Journal (January 2014). Noa is also a frequent contributor to the Firm’s Whistleblower Defense blog.

Previously served as Assistant General Counsel to the New York City Mayor’s Office of Labor Relations, Noa defended the Mayor and City agencies against both employee grievances at arbitration and improper practice petitions before the Board of Collective Bargaining. Prior to that, she was a Law Clerk to Judge Ellen L. Koblitz of the Appellate Division of the New Jersey Superior Court.

While in law school, Noa served on the Executive Board as notes and articles editor of the Fordham Urban Law Journal.