American Nat. Bank & Trust Co. of Chicago v. Haroco, Inc.

Summary

The Supreme Court affirmed the Seventh Circuit in a private civil action under RICO alleging that a bank fraudulently charged excessive interest through a scheme involving mail fraud. The Court held that, consistent with its decision in Sedima, injury from the predicate offenses was sufficient and rejected the asserted requirement of a distinct RICO injury. The Court declined to consider a late-raised argument concerning whether the bank conducted an enterprise through a pattern of racketeering activity.

Holdings

1. A private civil RICO claim does not require a distinct injury caused by the defendant's conduct of an enterprise through racketeering activity; injury caused by the prescribed predicate offenses alone is sufficient.
2. The Court declined to consider the argument because it was not presented below, was not addressed by the Court of Appeals, and was not included in or fairly included within the question presented in the certiorari petition.

Questions Presented

1. Whether a private RICO claim under 18 U.S.C. § 1964(c) requires injury caused by the defendant's conduct of an enterprise through a pattern of racketeering activity, or whether injury caused directly by the predicate offenses alone is sufficient.
2. Whether the Court should consider petitioners' argument that the complaint failed to allege that the enterprise was conducted through a pattern of racketeering activity when that argument was not presented below and was not included in the question presented in the certiorari petition.

Disposition

affirmed