On August 19, 2025, Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier announced that his office had filed a lawsuit under the Florida False Claims Act (FCA) against textbook publishers McGraw Hill and Savvas Learning Company.
According to the state, the defendants failed to comply with Florida’s statutory pricing requirements for instructional materials; specifically, the requirement that publishers give every Florida school district “the best price offered anywhere in the nation, automatically extend any price cuts made available elsewhere, and provide free materials to Florida schools whenever they are provided free to others.”
The Attorney General’s Office alleges that McGraw Hill and Savvas knowingly charged certain Florida school districts more than the lowest price they offered to other districts, and withheld cost reductions required by statute.
The state’s investigation was triggered by a private whistleblower filing a qui tam lawsuit under the state FCA. Like the federal FCA, the Florida FCA permits the state to seek treble damages and civil per claim penalties for violations of the statute. And also like the federal FCA, the Florida FCA permits private whistleblowers to file qui tam lawsuits and receive between 15 and 30% of the state’s eventual recovery.
Many states – as well as the federal government – have similar rules requiring contractors to offer the government any discount or other price reduction offered to any other customer, or what is generally referred to as a “Most Favored Customer” clause. For example, contracts with the federal General Services Administration (GSA) contain a Price Reduction Clause, which requires the contractor to promptly report any price reductions given to other customers and to give the government the same price reduction. Federal contractors that violate the Price Reduction Clause face the prospect of FCA liability. In 2023, for example, NortonLifeLock was found liable under the federal FCA for failing to provide accurate and complete information regarding the discounts and rebates that it offered to commercial customers, causing the GSA to pay higher prices under its contract with the company.
As the NortonLifeLock and McGraw hill cases demonstrate, failure to follow “most favored customer” rules could lead to substantial liability under the FCA, as well as significant administrative sanctions including possible debarment.
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The attorneys at Chilivis Grubman represent businesses and individuals in connection with False Claims Act investigations and litigation. If you need assistance with such a matter, contact us today.