On March 6, 2023, WLF urged the Supreme Court to overturn a Ninth Circuit decision about what constitutes a “domestic injury” under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO). The case is a follow-on to the Supreme Court’s 2016 decision in RJR Nabisco v. European Community, which clarified that private plaintiffs suing under civil RICO may sue for only domestic injuries. In its amicus brief supporting reversal, WLF emphasized the damage to both the rule of law and our civil-justice system that would occur were the Court to affirm the Ninth Circuit’s unwarranted dilution of RICO’s domestic-injury requirement. Allowing foreign plaintiffs to “domesticate” foreign injuries by simply confirming foreign awards in the United States as the basis for civil RICO claims would amplify the burden on the federal courts, impose higher litigation costs on multi-national businesses, and force defendants into coercive settlements.
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