Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly recently quoted Atty. Eric D. Correira regarding a case where the First U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals found that an estate beneficiary could not bring civil RICO claims against the estate’s personal representative for a scheme involving her deceased uncle’s business interests because the alleged pattern of fraud, in which the plaintiff was not a victim, included securities fraud. The Court held that securities fraud is excluded from the RICO statute.

However, in dismissing the plaintiff’s RICO claims, the Court acknowledged that the other allegations of fraud and breach of fiduciary duty raised in the plaintiff’s complaint could still be brought at the state court level. From the article: “Eric D. Correira of Swansea suggested that in refiling her state law claims, [the plaintiff] consider doing so in Probate & Family Court instead of Superior Court. ‘Her factual allegations fall within the scope of the Probate & Family Court’s equity jurisdiction, and that court has the added benefit of being able to award attorneys’ fees pursuant to [G.L.c. 215 §45], something that is not available in Superior Court,’” he said.

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