Bass, Berry & Sims attorneys Audrey Anderson and Denise Barnes authored an article for Law360 Expert Analysis about the latest in the U.S. government’s actions against Harvard University.
The Trump administration has taken several additional steps in its civil rights enforcement efforts against Harvard, escalating what has become one of the most high-profile federal-university confrontations in recent memory. However, Audrey and Denise point out a notable and strategically significant omission: despite prior signals that the administration’s enforcement campaign would leverage the False Claims Act (FCA), the government chose not to assert FCA violations when it had the clear opportunity to do so.
This decision is seen as the most interesting and telling aspect of the latest enforcement actions. The absence of FCA claims raises important questions about the administration’s litigation strategy — whether it reflects a deliberate choice to pursue a narrower legal theory, a recognition of evidentiary or legal hurdles in bringing FCA claims against a university, or a tactical decision to reserve that avenue for future action. The authors suggest this gap is worth watching closely as the broader enforcement effort against Harvard continues to unfold.
Audrey and Denise conclude by saying that the government’s “failure to assert such a [FCA] claim when they seemingly could have done so against Harvard may show less enthusiasm to execute on this effort — or better yet, more self-awareness as to the viability of such allegations — than originally indicated.”
The full article, “What’s Missing From Latest Gov’t Claims Against Harvard,” was published by Law360 on April 3 and is available online (subscription required) or in the PDF provided.