RICO May be Used to Enforce Foreign Arbitration Award, High Court Rules

WASHINGTON, D.C. — A majority of the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that a foreign party may use the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO) to enforce a foreign arbitration award when it suffers injury to its intangible property.

In a June 20 opinion, the majority explained that courts may look beyond the nature of the judgment and hold that once a judgment confirms a foreign arbitration award, it is akin to any other domestic judgment. The majority agreed with the 9th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals’ ruling rejecting the domicile-of-the-plaintiff test for determining the location of injury to …