NCJ Number
137841
Journal
Notre Dame Law Review Volume: 67 Issue: 3 Dated: (1992) Pages: 799-819
Date Published
1992
Length
21 pages
Annotation
In the case of Oscar v. University Students Cooperative Association, a group of apartment tenants in Berkeley, California, sued their neighbors under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act, alleging that the neighbors' drug dealing activities interfered with the use and enjoyment of their property.
Abstract
RICO allows the recovery of treble damages and attorney fees for injury to business or property that is caused by racketeering activity. In the Oscar case, the district court dismissed the tenants' suit because they failed to show that the defendants' activities caused an injury to their leasehold. A panel of the ninth circuit partially reversed the district court's decision, but the ninth circuit later vacated the panel's opinion and is to rehear the case en banc. Because RICO does not define property, the Oscar court appropriately looked to California law to determine whether the plaintiffs had a property interest in their leasehold. Further, the defendants' drug-related activities interfered with the use and enjoyment of the plaintiffs' leasehold; in fact, the defendants were the sole cause of the leasehold's diminished value. The author concludes that, as a policy matter, the ninth circuit court should affirm the panel's decision and that RICO represents a valuable addition to the private citizen's fight against neighborhood drug dealers. The legislative history of RICO and RICO standing requirements pertinent to the Oscar case are reviewed. 102 footnotes