United States Ninth Circuit

In this action brought under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO) and the Labor Management Reporting and Disclosure Act (LMRDA), plaintiff-union and its subordinate organizations and members allege that defendant Build and Construction Trades Department conducted a campaign of intense economic pressure, as well as acts of vandalism and threats of force, to persuade plaintiffs to re-affiliate with Building Trades and pay dues to it. Dismissal is affirmed, where: 1) plaintiffs failed to plausibly allege any predicate acts or racketeering activity under the Hobbs Act, as the Hobbs Act is not violated based on unwanted or subjectively valueless services in the context of an economic pressure campaign; 2) plaintiffs did not adequately allege that defendants used violence or force against plaintiffs; and 3) plaintiffs failed to state a claim that defendants violated the LMRDA, as plaintiffs were not expelled from the Metal Trades union as a disciplinary action.

Appellate Information

• Decided 10/28/2014
• Published 10/28/2014

Judges

• O’Scannlain

Court

• United States Ninth Circuit

Counsel