In Part I of this series Defending RICO Claims in the Business Context, we described why a plan to defend against potential claims under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO), 18 U.S.C. §§ 1961–68, should be in every business’s toolkit. Although the term RICO usually conjures up images of organized crime and mobsters from the movies, plaintiffs across the country are now using RICO to bring civil suits against companies for a wide variety of purported wrongdoing that RICO was never intended to address. This practice can cause serious disruptions even where the RICO claim is completely meritless.
In Part II, we describe one of the best tools businesses have in the toolkit—moving to dismiss a RICO claim because the plaintiff failed to allege that his purported injuries are sufficient to convey what is “RICO standing.”
Fortunately for defendants, the RICO standing requirement greatly restricts the…
