Articles Posted in RICO

While Georgia’s Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act is modeled upon the federal RICO Act, it has some very clear differences that make Georgia’s RICO law more expansive than its federal counterpart. Even still, Georgia’s RICO law is limited in scope and, in many cases where it’s asserted as a claim, the alleged wrongdoing doesn’t fall within the narrow goalposts the law erects. If your ordinary business dispute has spun up into a claim of Georgia RICO violations by the other side, make sure you have an Atlanta RICO attorney experienced in handling these cases and in getting the claim dismissal or other positive outcome you need.

There are actually several ways that a civil claim under Georgia’s RICO law can come up short. For one thing, O.C.G.A. Section 16-14-4(a) requires that a RICO plaintiff prove that the defendant, by use of a “pattern of racketeering activity” or the proceeds from that activity, obtained “an interest in or control of any enterprise, real property, or personal property of any nature, including money.”

This last requirement was what felled one businessman’s recent RICO claim. That businessman, L.D., was someone who, according to some news reports, frequently acted as an intermediary between college football players and professional football agents.

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Most people associate the word ”racketeering” with the Mafia or other organized crime entities. However, the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organization Act (RICO), both the federal and Georgia versions, span more than just situations involving organized crime. People can bring civil RICO lawsuits for a variety of reasons. The law is often overused, but any civil RICO claim is something your business should take very seriously because, if the plaintiff succeeds, your business could be forced to pay “treble damages,” which means a plaintiff’s award that is triple the amount of damages actually proved. Fortunately, there are many ways that a skilled Georgia civil racketeering attorney can defeat an improper civil RICO case launched against your business.

If you are on the defendant side of a civil RICO lawsuit, you should know that there are a significant number of pleading and proof requirements the law imposes on plaintiffs. This gives your knowledgeable attorney many opportunities to obtain a summary judgment that throws out the RICO claim before it ever makes it to trial.

As an example, we can look at a federal court case that started right here in North Georgia. The plaintiff, R.C., was a customer who bought a puppy at a Kennesaw pet store. She paid $2,400 for her Shih Tzu after receiving paperwork certifying that the dog was healthy. The dog wasn’t. A veterinarian diagnosed the puppy with parvovirus, which is often fatal in puppies.

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