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RICO

By: Derek Hawkins//February 6, 2017//

RICO

By: Derek Hawkins//February 6, 2017//

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7th Circuit Court of Appeals

Case Name: Jan Domanus, et al v, Locke Lord LLP et al

Case No.: 15-3647

Officials: WOOD, Chief Judge, and KANNE and HAMILTON, Cir cuit Judges

Focus: RICO

If the allegations in the supplemental complaints filed in this case are to be believed, the defendant law firms and lawyers were involved in a hornet’s nest of ethical violations. The more difficult question, however, is whether the complaints state claims under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, 18 U.S.C. § 1962(d), commonly known as RICO. Complicating matters is the fact that the alleged RICO violations all relate to a Polish company, Krakow Business Park Sp. z o.o. (Spółka z ograniczoną odpowiedzialnością, which roughly means private limited company), and its affiliates and owners. See RJR Nabisco, Inc. v. European Community, 136 S. Ct. 2090 (2016). The district court concluded, in an exhaustive opinion, that plaintiffs were estopped from asserting certain aspects of their claim and that nothing in the complaint plausibly asserted that the lawyer‐ defendants (which we will call them unless greater precision is needed) stepped over the line between representation of their clients and participation in a RICO conspiracy. We agree that the complaints do not state any federal claim, and so we affirm the district court’s judgment.

Affirmed

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Attorney Derek A. Hawkins is the managing partner at Hawkins Law Offices LLC, where he heads up the firm’s startup law practice. He specializes in business formation, corporate governance, intellectual property protection, private equity and venture capital funding and mergers & acquisitions. Check out the website at www.hawkins-lawoffices.com or contact them at 262-737-8825.

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