U.S. v. Sanford-Brown, Ltd.

Dist. Ct. did not err in granting defendant’s motion for summary judgment in False Claims Act action alleging that defendant’s student recruitment and retention practices resulted in transmission of thousands of false claims for federal subsidies under Title IV of Higher Education Act. With respect to plaintiff’s claim based on implied false certification, plaintiff failed under Universal Health, 136 S.Ct. 1989, to present evidence showing that defendant made any representation in connection with its claims for payment outside of plaintiff’s bare speculation that defendant made misleading representations. Plaintiff further failed to establish that any misrepresentation was material in sense that government’s decision would likely or actually been different had it known of any alleged noncompliance with Title IV regulations.