Nimish R. Desai

Nimish R. Desai is a partner specializing in False Claims Act, class action, and environmental torts cases, and has helped secure over a billion dollars in settlements and recoveries through his case work. He has been recognized by The Best Lawyers in America as a “Super Lawyer” for every year from 2013-2021. He has also been repeatedly named to Best Lawyers’ list of outstanding practitioners in the field of Qui Tam law.

Nimish is a leading False Claims Act lawyer, seeking justice and recompense from persons and companies who defraud governmental programs. He currently serves as Co-Chair of the Education Committee for Taxpayers Against Fraud, the nation’s preeminent whistleblower law organization, and regularly presents to national conferences on FCA and Whistleblower topics. Nimish’s successes have come in both under-seal settlements and in cases with extensive litigation, both with and without the government’s involvement. His notable False Claims Act work includes:

• U.S. ex rel. Rockville v. Sutter Health – won a $46 million settlement in a lawsuit alleging fraudulent charges by Sutter Health hospitals. Nimish and the Lieff Cabraser team litigated the case for three years before reaching a settlement, and were deputized by the California Department of Insurance to serve as Lead Trial Counsel.
• U.S. ex rel. Dye v. ATK – secured a $37 million settlement in a case alleging the sale of defective products to the United States military. Nimish and the LCHB team litigated alongside the Department of Justice for many years before achieving the settlement.
• U.S. ex rel. Doe v. OANC – obtained a $2.4 million settlement in a case arising out of the illegal re-importation of medical devices.
• U.S. ex rel. Barrett v. Allergan – serves as Lead Counsel in litigation involving Allergan’s alleged failure to properly report the Medicare Part B Average Sales Price of Botox. After the government declined intervention, Nimish has led the case on behalf of the whistleblower, defeating a motion to dismiss in 2019. The parties recently filed a notice of settlement.
• U.S. ex rel. Waters v. Envision – serves as Lead Counsel in litigation involving alleged kickbacks by ambulatory surgical centers. After the government declined intervention, the whistleblower’s lawyers retained Lieff Cabraser to continue litigating the case.
• Various Under Seal Matters – Nimish currently represents whistleblowers in numerous health care and defense procurement matters that are under seal in federal courts throughout the country.

With his chemical engineering background, Nimish also works on the firm’s environmental cases and investigations, including the 2015 Santa Barbara oil spill currently being litigated in federal court in Los Angeles, and the TVA coal ash spill in Kingston, Tennessee, which settled in 2014 for nearly $28 million.

In his class action practice, Nimish is one of the firm’s lead attorneys in the Takata air bag defects litigation, which has resulted in approved settlements totaling over $1 billion to date. He helped lead the litigation against BP for its allegedly defective solar panels, which resulted in a nationwide settlement valued at $67 million. Prior to that, he worked on litigation against Toyota for sudden acceleration problems in its vehicles, and against Pfizer for its allegedly defective prescription drugs Bextra and Celebrex.