FEDERAL CIVIL RICO INSURANCE LITIGATION

FEDERAL CIVIL RICO INSURANCE LITIGATION

Insurance companies suing insureds have been bringing cases in federal court and alleging Federal Civil RICO as the main claim in many of their lawsuits. This has occurred most frequently in the healthcare space, when the insurance companies will sue a group of healthcare providers along with entities, individuals, and others associated with those providers of healthcare services.

Civil RICO is a federal law and RICO is the acronym for that federal law, standing for Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act There also exists a Federal Criminal RICO statute which is similar in many ways to the Federal Civil RICO statute. RICO was originally written by Congress to go after organized crime, but Civil RICO claims have been used with increasing frequency by insurance companies in this context.

It is extraordinarily difficult for an insurance company to actually prove and win a federal civil RICO claim. It is, nonetheless, extraordinarily daunting and frightening to be as a defendant in one of these lawsuits by a huge insurance company with enormous resources at its disposal. It is especially daunting given that a successful RICO claim carries with it, as remedies, treble damages and the recovery of attorney’s fees and costs.

If you, your business, or your practice has been sued by an insurance company and the lawsuit includes RICO allegations, you will need to hire experienced legal counsel as soon as possible. The attorneys at Schwartz, Conroy & Hack have successfully defended more than 100 of these cases and know what to do to protect your rights.