QUESTION:        Our hospital just received a Civil Investigative Demand from the Department of Justice.  Should we be worried?

ANSWER:            Yes.  A Civil Investigative Demand (CID) is like a beefed-up subpoena.  While a subpoena duces tecum will only call for production of documents, a CID can require the recipient to produce documents, as well as answer interrogatories or give oral testimony under oath.  Moreover, the authority to issue a CID is quite broad.  The issuing DOJ attorney only needs a “reason to believe that any person may be in possession, custody, or control of documentary material or information relevant to a false claims law investigation.”  The potential breadth of a CID and the ability to compel sworn testimony raise critical issues for recipients, particularly those who may be under a concurrent criminal investigation.  And unlike interrogatories or depositions in a civil case, CIDs are an investigative, not discovery, tool, so only the government gets to use them.

If the CID is overly broad, your attorney may be able to get the DOJ attorney to limit the scope of the CID.  However, the information being demanded should give you an idea of the issue being investigated.  If requested, the government will also usually provide the recipient of a CID with additional time to respond.  Whether the DOJ will pursue the matter further or whether a qui tam has been filed is impossible to ascertain at this stage.  What is required is for you to search your files and work with your attorney to respond to the CID to the best of your ability.