Commercial Litigation and Arbitration

RICO — Concrete, Definite, Tangible Losses Necessary to Establish RICO Injury

From Fisher v. Halliburton, 2009 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 117427 (S.D. Tex. Dec. 17, 2009):

[P]laintiffs can only bring RICO claims for concrete, definite, and tangible losses. Price v. Pinnacle Brands, Inc., 138 F.3d 602, 607 (5th Cir. 1998) ("Injury to mere expectancy interests or to an 'intangible property interest' is not sufficient to confer RICO standing."); Oscar [v. University Students Co-op. Ass'n], 965 F.2d [783] at 783 [(9th Cir. 1992) (en banc), cert. denied, 506 U.S. 1020, 113 S. Ct. 655 (1992)] ("[A] showing of 'injury' requires proof of concrete financial loss, and not mere injury to a valuable intangible property interest.") (citations omitted). "[S]peculative damages are not compensable under RICO." In re Taxable Mun. Bond Secs. Litig., 51 F.3d 518, 523 (5th Cir. 1995); accord Berg v. First State Ins. Co., 915 F.2d 460, 464 (9th Cir. 1990); Fleischhauer v. Feltner, 879 F.2d 1290, 1299-1301 (6th Cir. 1989), cert. denied, 493 U.S. 1074, 110 S. Ct. 1122. Instead, a plaintiff must demonstrate a "conclusive financial loss" in order to have standing to bring a civil claim under RICO. Id. Stated plainly, "injuries to property are not actionable under RICO unless they result in tangible financial loss to the plaintiff." Oscar, 965 F.2d at 785.

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