“May I see those records, please?”

After the matter ended, a health care economist sought to intervene in a qui tam case about medical billing, wanting to challenge a protective order that covered documents in which he had professional interest.

The Fifth Circuit did not rule that he had the right to intervene, but did reverse the district court’s denial of his petition, finding that it had erred on points of law in evaluating his standing, his “claim or defense” that justified intervention, and the timeliness of his petition. U.S. ex rel Hernandez v. Team Finance LLC, No. 22-40707 (Aug. 31, 2023).