Illinois Attorneys Prevail on Appeal in RICO Suit

Chicago Partner Phillip Litchfield and Attorney Kristopher Fernandez obtained affirmance on appeal in the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit on behalf of our client, a substance testing laboratory, against Plaintiffs’ Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) violation claim.

In order to maintain employment or professional licenses, multiple individuals were required to submit to alcohol testing using test kits developed by our laboratory client. After receiving unfavorable results on their tests, Plaintiffs claimed our client fraudulently marketed and sold its test kits, committing a RICO violation.

In February 2024, our defense attorneys Phil Litchfield and Kristopher Fernandez prevailed on a Motion to Dismiss our laboratory client in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. Subsequently, Plaintiffs filed an appeal.

On appeal, our defense attorneys argued that Plaintiffs did not sufficiently plead that our client was an “enterprise,” as required to establish a RICO violation. Phil and Kristopher also contended that Plaintiffs failed to adequately plead that our client’s actions caused the alleged damages.

In June 2025, the appellate court affirmed the district court’s decision, dismissing Plaintiffs’ claims.

Phillip G. Litchfield focuses his defense litigation practice on construction negligence, personal injury, products liability and wrongful death claims.

Kristopher G. Fernandez concentrates his practice on commercial litigation, and has experience handling cases involving products liability.