Commercial Litigation and Arbitration

When Loss of Earnings May, and May Not, Be Recovered under RICO

From Kalomiris v. Monroe County Syndicate, 2009 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 1264 (M.D. Pa. Jan. 8, 2009):

RICO requires that the plaintiff sustain injury to "business or property." 18 U.S.C. § 1964(c). Personal injuries, loss of earnings, and other indirect injuries do not confer standing under RICO. See Anderson v. Ayling, 396 F.3d 265, 270-71 (3d Cir. 2005) (upholding dismissal of the plaintiffs' RICO claims because the complaint failed to allege a direct, causal link between the plaintiff's loss of employment and the alleged racketeering activity); Genty v. Resolution Trust Corp., 937 F.2d 899, 918-19 (3d Cir. 1991) (concluding that personal injuries cannot confer standing under RICO). ***

[Footnote 17.] Loss of employment may confer RICO standing if the alleged racketeering activity proximately caused the plaintiff's harm. See, e.g., Genty, 937 F.2d at 918 n.12 ("[T]he loss of employment due to racketeering activity is injury to "business" not personal injury and so resulting loss of wages, benefits, and damage to reputation are compensable under section 1964(c)."); Magnum v. Archdiocese of Phila. , No. 06-CV-2589, 2006 WL 3359642, at *3 n.3 (E.D. Pa. Nov. 17, 2006). An attenuated or speculative relationship between the alleged racketeering activity and the plaintiff's harm cannot sustain RICO liability. See Anderson, 396 F.3d at 270.

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