The U.S. Supreme Court held that a foreign plaintiff can sue a domestic U.S. judgment-debtor under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act ("RICO") for the debtor's fraudulent domestic efforts to avoid...more
The Background: A Chilean plaintiff filed a civil RICO action against a Chilean defendant based on the latter's pattern of misappropriation of the former's assets. The Issue: The defendant sought to dismiss the action...more
In an unusual four-member majority opinion in RJR Nabisco, Inc. v. European Community, the U.S. Supreme Court settled a host of controversial questions about the extraterritorial scope of the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt...more
On June 20, 2016, the Supreme Court of the United States decided RJR Nabisco, Inc. et al. v. European Community et al., No. 15-138, holding that at least some of the substantive provisions of the Racketeer Influenced and...more
Editor’s Overview - This month we review the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Montanile v. Board of Trustees of National Elevator Industries Health Benefit Plan where the Supreme Court considered the scope of...more
The R.J. Reynolds defendants have again prevailed against allegations that they breached their fiduciary duties by divesting the RJR 401(k) plan of funds invested in Nabisco stock. Following remand by the Fourth Circuit, the...more
While the Court’s review of bedrock principles of class action litigation and the continuing struggle to enforce arbitration clauses in the face of hostile state law are two important topics to watch, they are not the only...more
Just about one hundred years ago, Archibald Query of Somerville, Massachusetts invented the first commercial marshmallow cream, which he pedaled door-to-door in Union Square. Around 1917, he sold the recipe for $500 to two...more
In Tatum v. RJR Pension Investment Committee, No. 13-1360 (August 4, 2014), a divided panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit held that, if the plaintiff in an ERISA fiduciary breach case proves that the...more
Editor's Overview - As the summer draws to a close, no one would fault you if you missed the Fourth Circuit's decision in Tatum v. RJR Pension Investment Committee, which was published on August 4th. However, plan...more