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April 15, 2024
Colorado Worker Shows Head Injury Happened as a Consequence of a Knock on the Head at Work

April 4, 2024
Callfornia Division of Workers' Compensation Pharmacy and Therapeutics Committee Meeting Scheduled for April 17, 2024

April 3, 2024
California Division of Workers' Compensation Posts Adjustments to Official Medical Fee Schedule (DMEPOS)

April 2, 2024
California Division of Workers' Compensation Posts Adjustments to Official Medical Fee Schedule for Pathology and Clinical Laboratory

With 100 convictions overturned in the Rampart police scandal and 135 related civil cases brewing, Los Angeles has been dealt another devastating legal blow. The RICO Act (Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations) was upheld a second time in seven months by a federal judge pertaining to Rampart. The ruling by US District Judge Gary A. Feess on April 19 further exposes LA’s liability—which some legal experts are predicting could reach $100 million in total damages.

Coincidentally, LA Mayor Richard Riordan submitted his final outgoing budget on April 20, with $40 million allocated to pay off Rampart claims.

Feess also ruled that LA City Council members can be held liable for damages in Rampart-related cases.

The decision is a weighty one, with Feess presiding over approximately 100 Rampart cases as well as overseeing the consent decree between the city and federal government—in which LAPD could be sued for a pattern or practice of civil rights violations.

Under RICO, to be awarded monetary compensation a plaintiff must prove that he has been injured in his business or property.

The RICO Act was originally designed to curb organized crime in the ’70s. Since its inception the RICO Act has been used in a variety cases involving corrupt financial operations and healthcare fraud. As recently as January 4, 2001 the California State Supreme Court filed an opinion citing the RICO Act in the Vacanti vs. State Compensation Insurance Fund case, allowing this lawsuit to proceed outside the Workers’ Compensation system.

This is the first time that a police department has ever been held liable under the RICO Act.