Kasowitz Amicus Brief Helps Secure Supreme Court Victory in Civil RICO Case

Kasowitz Benson Torres, on behalf of the Human Trafficking Legal Center (HTLC), a non-profit organization that seeks justice for trafficking survivors, filed an amicus curiae brief that helped secure an important win in the U.S. Supreme Court case Medical Marijuana v. Horn.  The question presented was whether the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO), under which “any person injured in his business or property” by reason of a RICO violation may seek treble damages, allows a plaintiff to recover for business or property loss even if that loss resulted from a personal injury.  While defendant Medical Marijuana advocated for a personal-injury bar to civil RICO recovery, Kasowitz’s brief supported plaintiff Horn’s position that the bar would contravene the text.  Kasowitz’s brief also provided an additional and compelling reason to resist an atextual bar: its implications on trafficking survivors.  Because the economic injuries of trafficking survivors invariably flow from personal injuries, defendant’s rule, which would essentially foreclose survivors from pursuing civil RICO remedies, would be contrary to Congress’s intent in expressly adding human trafficking offenses to the list of RICO predicates.
 
In a 5-4 opinion issued on April 2, 2025, the Supreme Court adopted Horn’s and the HTLC’s position, rejecting the personal-injury bar.  And Justice Barrett, writing for the majority, specifically noted that the contrary view failed to account for the trafficking context: “[Medical Marijuana] insists that a human trafficking victim can sue for her business or property harm, even though the harm necessarily resulted from her captivity.  But if an antecedent-personal-injury bar exists, it is unclear why any of these plaintiffs can recover for their business or property losses.  In each scenario, the economic harm resulted from a personal injury.”  The Supreme Court’s decision will enable trafficking survivors to employ civil RICO as a tool to combat traffickers, their associates, and the broad networks within which they operate.
 
The Kasowitz Benson Torres team representing the Human Trafficking Legal Center was led by partner Amit R. Vora and included associates Rachel Bandli, Jordan Goldberg, and Ahmed N. Mabruk.