Second Circuit Clarifies Civil Rico "Domestic Injury" Requirement

On Monday, the Second Circuit brought a measure of clarity to the debate about the definition of a domestic injury under the Racketeering Influence and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO), while also seeming to announce a new rule for shareholder suits under RICO that may prove consequential going forward.
In RJR Nabisco, Inc. v. European Community (decided June 20, 2016), the Supreme Court held that civil plaintiffs may only recover for domestic – but not foreign – injuries when bringing suit. The statute is attractive to private plaintiffs because it offers treble damages along with the recovery of attorney's fees. But the Supreme Court conspicuously failed to explain what makes an injury domestic in the first place, leaving district courts around the country to develop competing tests. The Second Circuit has now stepped into that void.