U.S. Supreme Court
Supreme Court to consider whether RICO reaches acts committed overseas
R. J. Reynolds has won Supreme Court review of its claim that it can’t be held accountable in U.S. courts for alleged violations of the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act committed overseas.
The U.S. Supreme Court agreed to hear the case on Thursday to decide whether RICO has extraterritorial reach, report SCOTUSblog, the Associated Press, the Washington Post, the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal (sub. req.).
The tobacco company is fighting a suit by 26 member states of the European Union that alleges the company participated in a scheme to launder the proceeds of illegal drug sales in Europe. R.J. Reynolds has denied the claim.
The case is RJR Nabisco Inc. v. European Community. The cert petition is here (PDF).
