Supreme Court May Weigh Big Weapon for U.S. Companies Sued Abroad
Can U.S. companies use the federal racketeering law to fend off costly foreign court judgments?...[T]he Supreme Court will decide whether to hear an appeal...The federal appeals court in New York ruled last August that Chevron, and indeed, any American corporation facing an expensive judgment abroad, may come home and use the civil provisions of the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO) as a weapon to go after the lawyers on the other side. The losers in that clash—impoverished Ecuadorian villagers and their New York-based attorney, Steven Donziger—are asking the justices to forbid this use of RICO as unwise and unfair. Chevron, naturally, wants the high court to stay out of it. The justices are expected to announce their intentions in the coming weeks...[T]he justices ordinarily like to resolve conflicts among lower federal courts...