A Medicare fraud lawsuit against skilled nursing home chain HCR Manorcare Inc. is heading to court this week without a key government witness, WSJ Pro Bankruptcy reported. Judge Claude Hilton of the U.S. District Court in Alexandria, Va., on Monday signed off on an order excluding a report and testimony from the Justice Department’s expert witness, Rebecca Clearwater. At a recent hearing, a magistrate judge said the government’s case relying on Clearwater’s testimony was resting on a “house of cards.” Magistrate Judge Theresa Buchanan concluded that Clearwater was untruthful about the existence of notes she failed to produce in time for key depositions or to include in her report supporting the government’s case. A trial is scheduled for Jan. 22, 2018.
