DePaul Law Review Volume 34 Issue 1 Fall 1984 Article 3 Commodities Litigation: The Impact of RICO Michael S. Sackheim Francis J. Leto Steven A. Friedman Follow this and additional works at: https://via.library.depaul.edu/law-review Recommended Citation Michael S. Sackheim, Francis J. Leto & Steven A. Friedman, Commodities Litigation: The Impact of RICO , 34 DePaul L. Rev. 23 (1984) Available at: https://via.library.depaul.edu/law-review/vol34/iss1/3 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the College of Law at Via Sapientiae. It has been accepted for inclusion in DePaul Law Review by an authorized editor of Via Sapientiae. For more information, please contact
[email protected]. COMMODITIES LITIGATION: THE IMPACT OF RICO Michael S. Sackheim* Francis J. Leto** Steven A. Friedman*** INTRODUCTION The number of private actions commenced against commodities brokers and other professionals in the futures area has increased dramatically in the last few years. Although these lawsuits primarily have been based on viola- tions of the Commodities Exchange Act (CEAct),' the complaints have fre- quently included allegations that the federal Racketeering Influenced and Cor- rupt Organization Act (RICO)2 was also violated by the subject defendents. In invoking the racketeering laws, the plaintiff often seeks to take advantage of the treble damage provision of RICO.3 This article will analyze the application of the racketeering laws to com- mon, garden-variety commodities fraud cases. Specifically, this article addresses those cases where a brokerage firm is sued because of the illegal acts of its agents. It is the authors' contention that the treble damages pro- vision of RICO should not be applied to legitimate brokerage firms who are innocently involved in instances of commodities fraud through the acts of their agents.