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Measure of Damages Under RICO (Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations) (From Techniques in the Investigation and Prosecution of Organized Crime, Volume 3, 1980-See NCJ-93571)

NCJ Number
93573
Author(s)
D E Campbell; E J Lopez
Date Published
1980
Length
33 pages
Annotation
The general concepts, now used in antitrust cases, of how to measure damage to a business are likely to apply also to cases decided under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO).
Abstract
These damage measures include (1) diminution of revenue from business actually transacted, (2) loss of profits which would otherwise have been made when the plaintiff was actually operating the business, and (3) loss of or injury to investment in property. it is likely that the rigid requirements for proving the fact of damage and the standing rules of the antitrust field will be relaxed or eliminated in RICO cases, which would help advance the remedial aims of the RICO statute. Actual methods used to measure the various kinds of damages caused to the plaintiff's business by the defendant's actions, however, will probably remain about the same. If a plaintiff's property is damaged or destroyed as a result of a defendant's RICO violation, the traditional measures will most likely be used: the plaintiff will be awarded either the diminution in value or the replacement cost. The RICO treble damages provision does not apply to injury or death. Nevertheless, if the injury or death affected the plaintiff's business or property in some way, it might be possible to recover some damages. Footnotes are provided.