United States Ninth Circuit

In a putative class action alleging that defendants Microsoft and Best Buy violated RICO via policies and practices related to MSN-subscription Trial CDs and MSN accounts to which consumers were unknowingly subscribed, dismissal of plaintiffs' suit is reversed and remanded where: 1) plaintiffs have sufficiently alleged the existence of an associated-in-fact enterprise within the meaning of 18 U.S.C. sections 1961(4) and 1962(c); and 2) plaintiffs alleged wire fraud with sufficient particularity to satisfy Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 9(b).

Appellate Information

• Argued 12/13/2006
• Decided 05/04/2007
• Published 05/04/2007

Judges

• Before: MARY M. SCHROEDER, Chief Circuit Judge, STEPHEN REINHARDT, DIARMUID F. O'SCANNLAIN, PAMELA ANN RYMER, HAWKINS, SIDNEY R. THOMAS, BARRY G. SILVERMAN, W. FLETCHER, RAYMOND C. FISHER, RICHARD A. PAEZ, MARSHA S. BERZON, RICHARD C. TALLMAN, JOHNNIE B. RAWLINSON, JAY S. BYBEE, and CARLOS T. BEA, Circuit Judges.

Court

• United States Ninth Circuit

Counsel

• For Appellant:
  
• Beth Terrell, Tousley Brain Stephens P.L.L.C., Seattle, Washington;  Daniel C. Girard (argued), Girard Gibbs and De Bartolomeo LLP, San Francisco, CA;  Anthony K. Lee, San Francisco, CA, for the plaintiff-appellant.


• For Appellees:
  
• Charles B. Casper & Patrick T. Ryan, Montgomery, McCracken, Walker & Rhoads, Philadelphia, PA;  Michael J. Shepard (argued), Heller Ehrman, San Francisco, CA;  Jonathan M. Palmer, Kenneth E. Payson & Mathew L. Harrington, Heller Ehrman, Seattle, WA, for defendant-appellee Microsoft Corporation., Stacy S. Schwartz, Robins Kaplan Miller & Ciresi, Los Angeles, CA;  James Richard Murray, Gordon Murray Tilden, Seattle, WA;  J. Kevin Snyder, Dykema Gossett, Los Angeles, CA, for defendant-appellee Best Buy Co.