News
On June 17, 2024, the United States granted certiorari in a case brought against the AT&T subsidiary Wisconsin Bell. At issue in the case is whether AT&Ts' regional subsidiaries overcharged thousands of school districts and the federal government's E-rate program for telecommunication services. The case implicates hundreds of millions of dollars in alleged overcharges by AT&T subsidiaries around the country. David Chizewer argued successfully before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit in February 2023. On Wisconsin Bell's subsequent motion for reconsideration or en banc review, the Seventh Circuit reaffirmed its initial ruling on January 16, 2024, strengthening its decision on an issue that the Supreme Court has now accepted for review—namely, whether claims made on the E-rate program are subject to the False Claims Act. This issue, and other issues resolved in the Seventh Circuit, are important to the jurisprudence of the False Claims Act, to the E-rate program, and potentially to other, similar federal programs.
Goldberg Kohn joined this False Claims Act case for Mr. Heath in 2018, and has litigated it actively since then. If successful in the Supreme Court, Goldberg Kohn will try the case in the Eastern District of Wisconsin before a jury. Helgi Walker, the head of global litigation for Gibson Dunn, argued on behalf of Wisconsin Bell in the Seventh Circuit. Goldberg Kohn remains primary counsel and David Chizewer remains counsel of record for Mr. Heath in the Supreme Court. The case will be briefed and argued during the Supreme Court's 2024-25 term.