Abstract
Many judges, members of Congress, and commentators have bemoaned the fact that attorneys frequently add causes of action under the federal Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO) to “up the ante” in otherwise ordinary civil actions. After addressing civil RICO’s legislative history and § 1965’s statutory framework, this article describes different methods courts currently use to analyze venue and personal jurisdiction under U.S.C. § 1965. Next, this article proposes separate jurisdictional and venue tests for courts to apply when § 1965(b) is invoked in civil RICO cases. These tests are designed to protect defendants’ due process rights, give credence to the actual language of § 1965(b), adhere to legislative intent, bring some degree of uniformity and consistency to jurisdictional determinations under civil RICO, and discourage attorneys from adding RICO claims merely to gain a jurisdictional advantage. If applied, the tests should solve the major problems currently associated with venue and personal jurisdiction under civil RICO. The Article concludes with some practical advice for attorneys representing plaintiffs and defendants in civil RICO actions.
Recommended Citation
A. Darby Dickerson,
Curtailing Civil RICO’s Long Reach: Establishing New Boundaries for Venue and Personal Jurisdiction under 18 U.S.C. § 1965,
75 Neb. L. Rev.
(1996)
Available at: https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/nlr/vol75/iss3/4