WMHW Secures Victory; U.S. Supreme Court Denies Eli Lilly's Petition for Certiorari, Finalizing $220M+ False Claims Act Judgment

PHILADELPHIA, May 19, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- After a twelve-year legal battle, the United States Supreme Court today denied Eli Lilly and Company's petition for a writ of certiorari, finalizing a judgment of more than $220 million against the pharmaceutical giant. The decision cements a massive victory for whistleblower Ronald J. Streck and his legal team at Walden Macht Haran & Williams LLP (WMHW) and Martin Law, P.C., who successfully litigated this False Claims Act case from start to finish.

The Supreme Court's denial leaves in place the September 2025 unanimous decision by the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals, which affirmed the August 2022 unanimous jury verdict. Following a trial in the Northern District of Illinois, a jury found Eli Lilly liable for defrauding the Medicaid Drug Rebate Program, and the district court entered a judgment that, with accumulated interest, now exceeds $220 million. This is believed to be the first jury verdict against a pharmaceutical company under the federal False Claims Act, a statute that has been on the books for over 160 years.

Dan Miller, WMHW Partner and lead counsel for Mr. Streck, commented on today's development:

"This denial by the Supreme Court is the final word in a twelve-year fight for justice. Lilly exhausted every possible avenue to avoid accountability, but the facts and the law prevailed at every single level—from the jury box in Chicago, to the Seventh Circuit, and now the highest court in the land. This is a real-life David and Goliath story. We took on one of the largest pharmaceutical companies in the world represented by one of the largest law firms in the world in a case that the Department of Justice declined to prosecute, and we saw it through to the very end. This historic recovery for American taxpayers is a testament to the incredible courage and perseverance of our client, Ron Streck."

Mr. Streck originally filed the lawsuit in 2014. The case centered on the Medicaid Drug Rebate Program, under which drug manufacturers are required to pay rebates based on average manufacturer prices submitted to the Government. The lawsuit alleged that Eli Lilly initiated retroactive price increases on its drugs but systematically failed to pay Medicaid rebates on those new, higher drug prices.

In 2018, the government declined to intervene in the case. Undeterred, Mr. Streck and his legal team proceeded to litigate against Lilly under the qui tam provisions of the federal and state false claims acts. The WMHW team secured half a dozen victories in a row by defeating Lilly's motion to dismiss, defeating Lilly's motion for summary judgment, obtaining a unanimous jury verdict, defeating Lilly's appeal before the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals, defeating Lilly's motion to stay the Seventh Circuit mandate, and defeating Lilly's petition for a writ of certiorari.

Collectively, Mr. Streck's series of successful False Claims Act lawsuits against drug manufacturers have recovered over $350 million for the Medicaid program.

WMHW is one of the few law firms in the country that regularly litigates large False Claims Act cases in which the government declines to intervene, and our team has collectively worked on cases that have returned more than $3 billion to federal and state treasuries. https://whistleblowerlawfirm.net/. The WMHW team representing Mr. Streck includes lead counsel Dan Miller, Jonathan DeSantis, Daniel Cohen, and Jennifer Logan.

SOURCE Walden Macht Haran & Williams LLP