S Ct Vacates and Remands Immigration RICO Case

The Supreme Court said Monday that a lower court should reconsider whether workers can use a federal racketeering law to sue a Georgia carpet maker for hiring illegal immigrants. Last June, the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta ruled that Mohawk Industries Inc., based in Calhoun, could be sued under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, or RICO. That scared business groups, which feared the ruling could open a flood of similar suits. Calhoun-based Mohawk Industries has been accused of using the labor of illegal immigrants to hold down wages. In its one-paragraph decision, the Court said the appeals court should reconsider the case in light of a separate opinion issued Monday. In that case, the justices voted 8-1 to throw out a portion of a lawsuit accusing National Steel Supply Inc. of underpaying New York City taxes. The company’s competitor, Ideal Steel Supply Corp., said it lost sales as a consequence of being undersold. But the justices said Ideal Steel Supply could not use a RICO lawsuit to recover damages because it had not suffered “direct” injury. The Supreme Court didn’t directly settle the RICO issue but said only that the Mohawk case was being sent back to the appeals court “for further consideration in light of” the ruling in the New York City case.   For a story on the decision, click here.

KJ