Ninth Circuit En Banc Panel Reinstates RICO Claim in Best Buy/ MSN Case

May 4, 2007 - On May 4, 2007, the Ninth Circuit issued an en banc opinion reinstating the Plaintiffs’ RICO claim against Microsoft and Best Buy.  Plaintiffs allege that Microsoft and Best Buy had the common purpose of increasing the number of people using the MSN internet service through fraudulent means.  The companies created procedures for transferring the personal and financial information of class members from Best Buy to Microsoft to allow Microsoft to bill class members for MSN service they did not use.  They also entered into a cross-marketing contract in which Best Buy agreed to promote MSN and other Microsoft products in its stores and Microsoft agreed to promote Best Buy’s online store through its MSN service.  Reversing the District Court’s dismissal of the RICO claim, the Ninth Circuit held that these allegations are “more than adequate” to establish an “associated-in-fact enterprise,” which is “a group of persons associated together for a common purpose in engaging in a course of conduct.” 

To read the opinion in its entirety, click here.