New York City Transit Authority v. Express Scripts, Inc.
- Jesse Furman
- 1:19-cv-05196
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 3
In New York City Transit Authority v. Express Scripts, Judge Furman ruled that some Tricare-related discovery was relevant to NYCTA’s fraud allegations.
New York City Transit Authority and Express Scripts, Inc.; the ruling concerns NYCTA’s request for discovery about Express Scripts’ Tricare-related conduct.
What happened
New York City Transit Authority (NYCTA) sought documents and communications about alleged fraudulent prescription claims under Express Scripts’ separate Tricare contract and changes to fraud-prevention procedures. Express Scripts argued that the discovery concerned a different contract and was irrelevant, overbroad, and subject to security restrictions.
The court concluded that Express Scripts’ knowledge or lack of knowledge about the alleged Tricare fraud was relevant to issues in the case, including whether Express Scripts knew or should have known about alleged fraud involving NYCTA’s account. The court therefore found that at least some discovery into those matters was appropriate.
Judge Jesse M. Furman did not resolve Express Scripts’ other objections and directed the Clerk of Court to terminate NYCTA’s discovery letter-motion, docket number 63.
The detailed version
- New York City Transit Authority v. Express Scripts, Inc. · No. 1:19-cv-05196
- Jesse Furman
- Feb. 6, 2020
Background
NYCTA requested discovery concerning Express Scripts’ conduct under its contract with Tricare, the Department of Defense healthcare program for military servicemembers, retirees, and their families. The requests sought documents and communications concerning allegedly fraudulent compound-prescription claims under the Tricare prescription-drug plan and Express Scripts’ adjustments to its fraud, waste, and abuse procedures in response to those claims.
Express Scripts opposed the requested discovery. It argued that its Tricare contract involved different obligations from its contract with NYCTA and that conduct under a contract with a non-party was irrelevant to whether Express Scripts breached its NYCTA contract. Express Scripts also objected that the requests were overbroad and involved information subject to security restrictions.
Court’s Analysis
The court stated that no conference or formal motion was necessary at that time. It rejected Express Scripts’ relevance argument, concluding that Express Scripts’ knowledge—or lack of knowledge—of the alleged similar fraud connected to the Tricare account was relevant within the broad scope of discovery under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26. The court specifically identified the relevance of that information to whether Express Scripts knew or should have known about the alleged fraud connected to NYCTA’s account.
The court concluded that at least some discovery into the matters raised by NYCTA was appropriate. It did not decide any other objections Express Scripts might have to the requested discovery, including the objections concerning security restrictions and overbreadth.
Disposition
Judge Jesse M. Furman directed the Clerk of Court to terminate docket number 63, NYCTA’s discovery letter-motion. The order did not expressly state that the letter-motion was granted or denied; it determined that some discovery was relevant and appropriate while reserving judgment on Express Scripts’ other objections.
Read the full 3-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.