ST. PAUL MERCURY INSURANCE CO., Plaintiff-Counter Defendant-Appellee, v. Robert T. WILLIAMSON; Sonya Williamson; Arlone Belaire, Defendants-Counter Claimant-Appellants, v. Richard Vale; Haynes Best Western of Alexandria, Inc.; H.L. Haynes; Mrs. H.L. Haynes; Best Western International, Inc.; American General Fire and Casualty Co.; Maryland Casualty Co., Counter Defendants-Appellees. Robert T. Williamson; Sonya Williamson; Arlone Belaire, Plaintiffs-Appellants, v. Richard Vale; et al., Defendants, Richard Vale; Haynes Best Western of Alexandria; Best Western International, Inc.; H.L. Haynes; H.L. Haynes; American General Fire and Casualty; Maryland Casualty Co.; St. Paul Mercury Insurance Company; H.L. & H. Holding Co.; Defendants--Appellees. St. Paul Mercury Insurance Company, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. Robert T. Williamson; et al., Defendants, Robert T. Williamson; Arlone Belaire; Sonya J. Williamson, Defendants-Appellees. Robert T. Williamson; Sonya Williamson; Arlone Belaire, Plaintiffs-Appellees, v. Richard Vale; et al., Defendants, St. Paul Mercury Insurance Company, Defendant-Appellant. St. Paul Mercury Insurance Co.; Haynes Best Western of Alexandria, Inc.; Best Western International, Inc.; H.L. Haynes; H.L. Haynes, Mrs.; H & L Holding Co.; American General Insurance Co.; Richard S. Vale; Maryland Casualty Co., Plaintiffs-Appellees, v. Sonya Williamson, Individually and on behalf of her minor children, Robert T. Williamson, Individually and on behalf of his minor children; Lawrence J. Smith, Defendants-Appellants.
Nos. 97-31143, 98-30001 and 98-31243.
United States Court of Appeals, Fifth Circuit.
Aug. 17, 2000.
224 F.3d 425
Nancy Jane Marshall (argued), James Alfred Nugent, Deutsch, Kerrigan & Stiles, New Orleans, LA, for Vale.
W. Gerald Gaudet (argued), Robert Michael Kallam, Bradley Joseph Haight, Voorhies & Labbe, Lafayette, LA, for Haynes Best Western of Alexandria, Best Western Intern., Inc., Haynes, American Gen. Fire & Cas., Maryland Cas Co., HL&L Holding Co.
Campbell E. Wallace (argued), Metairie, LA, for Best Western Intern., Inc.
Marshall G. Weaver (argued), Henican, James & Cleveland, Metairie, LA, Gary J. Rouse, Ronald L. Riggle, Koch & Rouse, New Orleans, LA, Frederick B. Alexius, Provosty, Sadler, DeLaunay, Fiorenza & Sobel, Alexandria, LA, for St. Paul Mercury Ins. Co.
Lawrence J. Smith (argued), Guy Henry Leland (argued), Lawrence J. Smith & Associates, New Orleans, LA, pro se and for Sonya and Robert Williamson.
Before JONES, DEMOSS and DENNIS, Circuit Judges.
DeMOSS, Circuit Judge:
In these three consolidated appeals, we confront a convoluted set of facts and issues arising from the unfortunate litigiousness of the parties involved. Despite hopes that the cycle of litigation would end here today, we must conclude that the district court erred in various aspects of its rulings and that resolution of these cases must await another time.
I. BACKGROUND
In March of 1990, Sonya Williamson (“Sonya“) individually and Robert Williamson (“Robert“), on behalf of their children, filed suit in state court against various individuals and entities including St. Paul Mercury Insurance Company (“St.Paul“) (collectively the “insurance parties“) for injuries suffered by Sonya at the Haynes Best Western of Alexandria. On September 26, 1994, the jury in this state case returned two findings: (1) Sonya had sustained injuries at the motel on July 21, 1989; and (2) the insurance parties had proved by a preponderance of the evidence that the incident of July 21, 1989, was a result of a staged accident or fraud. Judgment was entered in favor of the insurance parties. On January 29, 1997, the Louisiana Fourth Circuit Court of Appeal affirmed the jury‘s verdict. See Williamson v. Haynes Best Western, 688 So.2d 1201 (La.Ct.App.1997). The Louisiana Supreme Court denied the Williamsons’ applications for writs on June 20, 1997. See Williamson v. Haynes Best Western, 695 So.2d 1355 (La.1997).
On November 4, 1993, during the pendency of the state trial, St. Paul filed suit in federal court against Robert, Arlone Belaire,1 and Seahorse Farms (collectively with Sonya and with or without Seahorse Farms as the “Williamsons“), alleging violations of the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (“RICO“),
On September 25, 1996, the Williamsons counterclaimed and simultaneously initiated an action in the same federal district court, which was ultimately consolidated
On October 22, 1997, the district court granted summary judgment in favor of St. Paul and the other counter-defendants on the Williamsons’ counterclaims. See St. Paul Mercury Ins. Co. v. Williamson, 986 F.Supp. 409 (W.D.La.1997). It further dismissed St. Paul‘s RICO claims against the Williamsons on October 30, 1997.
Subsequent to the district court‘s dismissal of St. Paul‘s RICO claims, St. Paul orally dismissed Robert, Arlone, and Seahorse Farms from the lawsuit at the final pretrial conference, held on October 31, 1997. With those dismissals, the only remaining matters were St. Paul‘s state law claims for fraud and conspiracy against Sonya. At the pretrial conference, the district court appeared to conclude that the state court jury finding of fraud was res judicata as to St. Paul‘s state law fraud claim.2 It induced Sonya‘s counsel to admit that with the dismissal of the other Williamson litigants, there existed the requirements for res judicata under Louisiana law.
Sonya‘s counsel, however, contended that the fraud and conspiracy claims had prescribed. He was given the opportunity to file a motion for summary judgment on that issue, which he did on November 5, 1997. St. Paul responded to that motion on November 7, 1997, six days prior to trial. That response for the first time specifically mentioned a malicious prosecution claim. Sonya filed a reply to the response on the same day.
On November 11, 1997, the district court denied Sonya‘s motion for summary judgment based on prescription. But instead of addressing whether the fraud and conspiracy claims had prescribed, the district court‘s order focused on whether St. Paul‘s complaint provided Sonya with notice of the operative facts underlying a malicious prosecution claim. While acknowledging that St. Paul did not expressly allege the legal theory of malicious prosecution, the district court found that St. Paul‘s complaint gave adequate notice of that claim for purposes of
Thereafter, on November 13, 1997, the district court ruled that the trial would proceed solely on the issue of damages. Sonya objected and asked for a continuance, which was denied. The jury returned a damages award against Sonya in the amount of $411,166.56.
While the federal suit was proceeding before the district court, Sonya and her children, through their father Robert, filed a petition in state court in November 1995, to nullify the prior state court judgment finding that Sonya‘s injuries were the result of a staged accident or fraud pursuant to
On September 9, 1998, St. Paul and the other insurance parties filed a complaint in federal court to enjoin the nullification action. They argued that Sonya and the
II. DISCUSSION
In these consolidated appeals, the various parties raise an assortment of issues. In appeal No. 97-31143, the Williamson litigants challenge the district court‘s apparent directed verdict/summary judgment order concluding that the state court jury finding of fraud was res judicata as to the liability portion of St. Paul‘s malicious prosecution claim, its decision to strike all of Sonya‘s defenses to that malicious prosecution claim, the sufficiency of the evidence to support the jury‘s damages verdict, certain evidentiary rulings by the district court, and its summary judgment order dismissing their counterclaims. In appeal No. 98-30001, St. Paul contests the district court‘s summary judgment order dismissing its RICO claims against the Williamsons. And in appeal No. 98-31243, Sonya, Robert, their children, and their attorney Smith assert that the district court erred in enjoining the nullification suit pending in Louisiana state court. We review each of these appeals in turn.
A. Appeal No. 97-31143
In this appeal, one of Sonya‘s major contentions is that the district court improperly determined that the state court jury‘s finding of a staged accident or fraud was res judicata as to the liability portion of St. Paul‘s malicious prosecution claim. She offers both a procedural and a substantive reason for reversing the district court‘s ruling. Procedurally, she notes that the district court allowed St. Paul to proceed on the malicious prosecution theory despite that claim not having been explicitly stated in St. Paul‘s complaint. Moreover, it appeared to grant summary judgment sua sponte on the issue of liability without affording her a chance to respond. Substantively, Sonya maintains that the district court‘s grant of summary judgment misapplied Louisiana res judicata law.
St. Paul never specifically mentioned a malicious prosecution claim; that is, its complaint4 did not include the magic words “malicious prosecution.” Furthermore, St. Paul never moved to amend its complaint to include a malicious prosecution claim. Indeed, the first time St. Paul expressly asserted this claim was in its response to Sonya‘s motion for summary judgment.
The notice pleading requirements of
Here, St. Paul‘s complaint focused on RICO violations purportedly committed by Sonya and the other Williamson litigants, but in describing those violations, it generally alleged that Sonya defrauded St. Paul by pursuing a fraudulent lawsuit in state court for which St. Paul sought damages to compensate for the attorneys’ fees expended in that suit. Although those allegations did not specifically include the words “malicious prosecution,” such a claim could conceivably come within those allegations, and those allegations state facts upon which relief can be granted.
Sonya‘s second procedural issue is of greater concern. St. Paul did not move for summary judgment based on res judicata as to the malicious prosecution claim, let alone on the fraud and conspiracy claims, which were the original claims that appeared to have been barred by res judicata at the October 31 pretrial conference. Hence, the district court must have sua sponte granted summary judgment on the liability portion of the malicious prosecution claim.
The district court may enter summary judgment sua sponte if the parties are provided with reasonable notice and an opportunity to present argument opposing the judgment. See Ross v. University of Texas, 139 F.3d 521, 527 (5th Cir.1998). A party must be given at least ten days notice before a court grants summary judgment sua sponte. See id. (quoting Millar v. Houghton, 115 F.3d 348, 350 (5th Cir.1997)). But failure to give notice may be harmless when the “‘nonmovant has no additional evidence or if all of the nonmovant‘s additional evidence is reviewed by the appellate court and none of the evidence presents a genuine issue of material fact.‘” Id. (quoting Nowlin v. Resolution Trust Corp., 33 F.3d 498, 504 (5th Cir.1994)).
The record is unclear as to whether the district court gave notice to Sonya that it was considering an award of summary judgment on the malicious prosecution claim. We can either view the district court‘s statements at the October 31 pretrial conference as having provided notice, with the subsequent November 13 hearing reflecting the actual summary judgment ruling, or we can view the November 13 hearing as having been the first time that Sonya was notified about the possibility of summary judgment. In the former case, there would have been sufficient notice, while in the latter there would not have been. Part of the uncertainty stems from the district court‘s perception of the fraud and malicious prosecution claims as being virtually synonymous when it considered whether St. Paul‘s complaint alleged a malicious prosecution claim. Because the district court viewed the two claims similarly, it naturally assumed that its oral res judicata ruling as to the fraud claim at the October 31 pretrial conference was controlling. But the fact that St. Paul‘s complaint may have averred a malicious prosecution claim, in addition to the fraud claim, does not make the two claims the same. Hence, we conclude that the November 13 hearing was the first notice to Sonya that the district court was considering summary judgment as to the liability portion of the malicious prosecution claim.
Notwithstanding this, summary judgment may still have been proper if the district court‘s procedural error was harmless. We, however, believe that that was not the case. Under Louisiana law, a malicious prosecution claim requires: 1) the commencement of an original criminal or civil judicial proceeding; 2) its legal causation by the present defendant against the present plaintiff who was the defendant in the original proceeding; 3) its bona fide termination in favor of the present plaintiff; 4) the absence of probable cause for such proceeding; 5) the presence of malice therein; and 6) damages conforming to legal standards resulting to the plaintiff. See Hibernia Nat‘l Bank v. Bolleter, 390 So.2d 842, 843 (La.1980). Sonya‘s state
The rules of res judicata encompass two separate but linked preclusive doctrines: (1) true res judicata or claim preclusion and (2) collateral estoppel or issue preclusion. See Kaspar Wire Works, Inc. v. Leco Eng‘g & Mach., Inc., 575 F.2d 530, 535 (5th Cir.1978). The former is typically what we call “res judicata,” and it treats a judgment, once rendered, as the full measure of relief to be accorded between the same parties on the same “claim” or “cause of action.” See id. Res judicata incorporates the doctrines of merger and bar, thereby extending the effect of a judgment to the litigation of all issues relevant to the same claim between the same parties, whether or not those issues were raised at trial. Collateral estoppel precludes the relitigation of issues actually adjudicated, and essential to the judgment, in a prior suit between the parties on a different cause of action. See id.
The Supreme Court has stated that “[t]he preclusive effect of a state court judgment in a subsequent federal lawsuit generally is determined by the full faith and credit statute, which provides that state judicial proceedings ‘shall have the same full faith and credit in every court within the United States . . . as they have by law or usage in the courts of such State . . . from which they are taken.‘” Marrese v. American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, 470 U.S. 373, 105 S.Ct. 1327, 1331-32, 84 L.Ed.2d 274 (1985) (quoting
Here, the district court had to give the same preclusive effect to the Louisiana state court judgment as would a Louisiana court. But, because of its civilian heritage, Louisiana‘s preclusion law is quite different from that of its common law cousins. For example, Louisiana explicitly rejected collateral estoppel as a preclusive device until certain statutory revisions came into effect on January 1, 1991. See B.E. Welch v. Crown Zellerbach Corp., 359 So.2d 154, 156-57 (La.1978);
While Louisiana did not have collateral estoppel until 1991, it did codify a law of res judicata at former
The authority of the thing adjudged takes place only with respect to what was the object of the judgment. The thing demanded must be the same; the demand must be founded on the same cause of action; the demand must be between the same parties; and formed by them against each other in the same quality.
When determining if res judicata applies, Louisiana courts have narrowly construed the doctrine‘s scope. See B.E. Welch, 359 So.2d at 156. Any doubt as to compliance with the requirements of res judicata is to be resolved in favor of maintaining the second action. See Greer v. Louisiana, 616 So.2d 811, 815 (La.Ct.App.1993). And the party urging res judicata has the burden of proving each essential element by a preponderance of the evidence. See id.
Under Louisiana law, identity of the parties does not mean that the parties must be the same physical or material parties, but they must appear in the suit in the same quality or capacity. See id. Here, that requirement was satisfied as Sonya and St. Paul opposed each other in both the state and federal suits in the same quality or capacity. On the other hand, we encounter difficulties in establishing the second and third requirements.
The thing demanded has routinely been defined as the kind of relief sought. See Cantrelle Fence & Supply Co. v. Allstate Ins. Co., 515 So.2d 1074, 1078 (La.1987). In reality, that requirement is more complicated as it encompasses the fundamental nature of the right claimed. “[T]he thing demanded in any action is the recognition of the parties’ rights vis-a-vis the thing in controversy.” David L. Hoskins, Comment, Litigation Preclusion in Louisiana: Welch v. Crown Zellerbach Corporation and the Death of Collateral Estoppel, 53 Tul. L.Rev. 875, 880 n.41 (1979); see also Dennis K. Dolbear, Note, The End of Collateral Estoppel in Louisiana: Welch v. Crown Zellerbach Corporation, 40 La. L.Rev. 246, 249 (1979) (“[I]t is the type of relief demanded, but viewed in terms of the basis for the right of indemnification.“). In the state court suit, St. Paul sought a defense verdict so that it would not have to pay any damages to Sonya for her injuries. The thing in controversy was whether Sonya had suffered any injuries from the electrical accident and whether that accident had been fraudulent or staged. In the federal case, what St. Paul wanted was damages for the attorneys’ fees expended in fighting a maliciously prosecuted state suit. Although the issue of fraud played an important role in the federal suit, the relief sought in that suit vis-a-vis the malicious prosecution claim was palpably different from the relief requested in the state suit.
As for the third requirement of identity of cause of action, Louisiana courts have concluded that the phrase is a mistranslation of the French and that it really refers to the civil concept of cause. See Greer, 616 So.2d at 815. Cause is the juridical or material fact which is the basis for the right claimed or the defense pleaded. See Mitchell v. Bertolla, 340 So.2d 287, 291 (La.1976). It may be likened to grounds, theory of recovery, or the principle upon which a specific demand is grounded, and it is a narrower concept than the common law‘s cause of action. See Cantrelle Fence, 515 So.2d at 1078; Greer, 616 So.2d at 815.
We can distinguish between cause and cause of action by gauging their effects under res judicata. After final judgment, a cause of action includes all grounds in support of it, and together they merge into the judgment so that relitigation of the cause of action on different grounds is barred. See Cantrelle Fence,
In the state suit, St. Paul defended against Sonya, contending that the accident was fraudulent. The cause concerned the defense, based on fraud, of a negligence suit initiated by Sonya. That suit ultimately resulted in a jury finding that the accident was either staged or a fraud. In the later federal suit, St. Paul asserted a malicious prosecution claim, a theory of recovery that is wholly different than a fraud defense. There, the cause involved whether Sonya maliciously prosecuted her negligence suit against St. Paul. As previously noted, a malicious prosecution claim requires: (1) the commencement of an original criminal or civil judicial proceeding; (2) its legal causation by the present defendant against the present plaintiff who was the defendant in the original proceeding; (3) its bona fide termination in favor of the present plaintiff; (4) the absence of probable cause for such proceeding; (5) the presence of malice therein; and (6) damages conforming to legal standards resulting to the plaintiff. See Hibernia Nat‘l Bank, 390 So.2d at 843. On the other hand, “[f]raud is a misrepresentation or a suppression of the truth made with the intention either to obtain an unjust advantage for one party or to cause a loss or inconvenience to the other.” Williamson, 688 So.2d at 1239 (citing
Despite those differences, the district court found that the state court fraud finding established all the elements of the malicious prosecution claim.6 The first three elements were satisfied when the first trial terminated in favor of St. Paul. The district court then held that the finding of fraud demonstrated a lack of probable cause, citing to Jones v. Soileau, 448 So.2d 1268 (La.1984). Because there was a lack of probable cause, the district court ruled that the presence of malice was established. See Hibernia Nat‘l Bank, 390 So.2d at 844. Lastly, the district court said damages are presumed when all the other elements of a malicious prosecution claim are satisfied. See id.
We believe that the ruling was in error. First, as previously noted, a fraud claim and a malicious prosecution claim are dissimilar in their elements and do not involve the same cause in the present case. The argument that a fraud finding establishes all the elements of a malicious prosecution claim and, therefore, is res judicata on that claim implies that the trial on the issue of fraud encompassed the malicious prosecution claim. This defies logic as a malicious prosecution claim could not have been tried until the first trial was over. Thus, there is an inherent contradiction to the notion that a fraud finding establishes all the elements for malicious prosecution and is res judicata on that claim. Second,
In light of our reversal and vacatur, we decline to address Sonya‘s arguments as to the striking of her defenses or as to whether sufficient evidence supported the jury‘s damages verdict. As for the remaining issues on appeal in No. 97-31143, after having reviewed the briefs and the record in this case, we find them meritless. Thus, we believe that the district court did not improperly grant summary judgment dismissing the Williamsons’ counterclaims or err in its evidentiary rulings, and those determinations are affirmed.
B. Appeal No. 98-30001
The second of the three appeals concerns the district court‘s summary judgment order dismissing St. Paul‘s RICO claims against the Williamsons. RICO creates a civil cause of action for “[a]ny person injured in his business or
property by reason of a violation of section 1962.‘” Beck v. Prupis, 529 U.S. 494, 120 S.Ct. 1608, 1611, 146 L.Ed.2d 561 (2000) (quoting
(a) a person who has received income from a pattern of racketeering activity cannot invest that income in an enterprise;
. . .
(c) a person who is employed by or associated with an enterprise cannot conduct the affairs of the enterprise through a pattern of racketeering activity; and
(d) a person cannot conspire to violate subsections (a), (b), or (c).
See Crowe v. Henry, 43 F.3d 198, 203 (5th Cir.1995). Under all those subsections, to state a RICO claim, there must be: “(1) a person who engages in (2) a pattern of racketeering activity (3) connected to the acquisition, establishment, conduct, or control of an enterprise.” Delta Truck & Tractor, Inc. v. J.I. Case Co., 855 F.2d 241, 242 (5th Cir.1988). Assuming that the three elements of a RICO person, a pattern of racketeering activity, and a RICO enterprise are met, we may then continue to the substantive requirements of each respective subsection.
Before proceeding to the three RICO elements and the substantive requirements of the subsections, we initially address St. Paul‘s argument as to the appropriate standard of review. Although the district court made its ruling after the Williamsons moved for partial summary judgment, St. Paul argues that the district court‘s ruling was based solely on the pleadings and that, therefore, the proper
When a party moves for summary judgment, as the Williamsons did in this case, “[i]t is not enough for the moving party to merely make a conclusory statement that the other party has no evidence to prove his case.” Ashe v. Corley, 992 F.2d 540, 543 (5th Cir.1993). “‘[B]efore the non-moving party is required to produce evidence in opposition to the motion, the moving party must first satisfy its obligation of demonstrating that there are no factual issues warranting trial.‘” Id. (quoting Russ v. International Paper Co., 943 F.2d 589, 592 (5th Cir.1991)). Indeed, where a motion for summary judgment is solely based on the pleadings or only challenges the sufficiency of the plaintiff‘s pleadings, then such a motion should be evaluated in much the same way as a
Contrary to St. Paul‘s assertions, the Williamsons did proffer evidence in support of their motion for summary judgment. In addition to pointing out the lack of evidence supporting St. Paul‘s RICO claims, they offered affidavits, depositions, and other relevant documentary evidence suggesting that their prior insurance claims, which St. Paul alleged were some of the bases for the income that supposedly was invested into a RICO enterprise, were not fraudulent and could not be predicate acts for the pattern of racketeering needed for a RICO violation.
On the other hand, St. Paul contends that the Williamsons, as movants, failed to comply with the holding in Ashe because they did not offer evidence to show that there was an absence of proof as to the factual issue of whether there was investment into a RICO enterprise. Admittedly, the thrust of the submitted evidence related to the pattern of racketeering issue, and not the specific issue of investment in a RICO enterprise.
But the fact that the Williamsons raised the absence of a pattern of racketeering issue in the summary judgment motion and provided evidence to corroborate that argument necessarily supports the Williamsons’ other argument that there was no evidence of investment in a RICO enterprise. Thus, the Williamsons, in their motion for summary judgment, did not rest on conclusionary statements but demonstrated that no factual issues warranted trial. In light of the Williamsons’ satisfaction of their burden to demonstrate that no factual issues existed and the district court‘s conscious decision to go beyond the pleadings, we review the current appeal under the de novo standard accorded to motions for summary judgment.
With that standard in mind, we turn to the substance of the district court‘s summary judgment order and St. Paul‘s appeal. Of the three elements required of any RICO claim, the district court noted that the Williamsons in their summary judgment motion had not challenged whether St. Paul had asserted and/or provided evidence of a RICO person or a RICO enterprise. A RICO person is the defendant, while a RICO enterprise can be either a legal entity or an association-in-fact. See Crowe v. Henry, 43 F.3d 198, 204 (5th Cir.1995). If the alleged enterprise is an association-in-fact, the plaintiff
The Williamsons, however, did circuitously challenge the third element of a pattern of racketeering activity, contending that St. Paul had failed to show evidence of fraudulent insurance claims. A pattern of racketeering activity requires two or more predicate acts and a demonstration that the racketeering predicates are related and amount to or pose a threat of continued criminal activity. See Word of Faith World Outreach Ctr. Church, Inc. v. Sawyer, 90 F.3d 118, 122 (5th Cir.1996). By arguing that there were no fraudulent insurance claims, the Williamsons essentially challenged St. Paul‘s allegations of mail and wire fraud, the predicate acts asserted by St. Paul as the basis for a pattern of racketeering activity. Among other things, both RICO mail and wire fraud require evidence of intent to defraud, i.e., evidence of a scheme to defraud by false or fraudulent representations. See Crowe v. Henry, 115 F.3d 294, 297 (5th Cir.1997). After reviewing the pleadings and the evidence, the district court determined that there were genuine issues of material fact as to the existence of a scheme to defraud and, as a result, as to the existence of those predicate offenses.9
Despite finding in favor of St. Paul on the three common elements of a RICO claim, the district court found summary judgment proper because St. Paul had failed to meet the substantive requirements of
1. Section 1962(a)
To establish a
Here, the district court dismissed St. Paul‘s claim because St. Paul failed to show that income from a pattern of racketeering activity was invested in or used to operate a RICO enterprise. The only predicate acts to form the basis of a pattern of racketeering activity were several counts of mail and wire fraud, which St. Paul explicitly stated in its complaint and RICO case statement. From those specific predicate acts, the district court found that the only evidence of income was several checks from Insurance Company of North America (“CIGNA“). The district court ruled that the evidence did not establish that any of those checks
On appeal, St. Paul primarily presses the sufficiency of its
By the time the CIGNA checks were sent out starting in 1991, Seahorse Farms had terminated as an entity. The only alleged RICO enterprise that the checks could have been invested in was the association-in-fact of Robert, Sonya, and Arlone. The district court, however, determined that St. Paul had failed to prove investment into a RICO enterprise, notwithstanding evidence suggesting that all three members of the association-in-fact had received the CIGNA checks. It was not persuaded by St. Paul‘s unsubstantiated allegation that the use of the CIGNA checks to maintain Robert, Sonya, and Arlone during the prosecution of the state tort suit was investment into an enterprise. That was error. Although we recognize and, in a sense, sympathize with the district court‘s apparent belief that St. Paul should have provided evidence beyond mere allegations that the CIGNA checks helped support the members of an enterprise to demonstrate investment into a RICO enterprise for purposes of a
This is troubling, in light of St. Paul‘s other claims under
Danielsen v. Burnside-Ott Aviation Training Ctr., Inc., 941 F.2d 1220, 1229-30 (D.C.Cir.1991); Ouaknine v. MacFarlane, 897 F.2d 75, 82-83 (2d Cir.1990); Grider v. Texas Oil & Gas Corp., 868 F.2d 1147, 1150 (10th Cir.1989). But see Busby v. Crown Supply, Inc., 896 F.2d 833, 836-40 (4th Cir.1990). That is, injuries due to predicate acts cannot form the basis of an investment injury for purposes of
In its response to the Williamsons’ motion for summary judgment and in its initial brief, however, St. Paul argues in a roundabout way that the investment injury it suffered was not from the predicate acts related to the filing of the state tort suit, but rather from the predicate acts associated with the Williamsons’ claims with other insurance companies.12 It maintains that its injuries are cognizable because they were the result of the Williamsons’ investment of racketeering income from a prior pattern of racketeering activity. See Newmyer v. Philatelic Leasing, Ltd., 888 F.2d 385, 396 (6th Cir.1989).
The present situation closely parallels the Newmyer case except that we encounter uncertainty as to whether St. Paul has alleged and established more than one pattern of racketeering activity. St. Paul‘s complaint grouped all the predicate acts together, implying that they composed one pattern of racketeering. In addition, of the predicate acts specifically listed in the complaint, almost all of them related to the Williamsons’ actions to obtain monetary compensation from insurance claims arising out of Sonya‘s July 1989 electrocution. Indeed, the CIGNA checks that purportedly constitute the investment into the RICO enterprise were received as a result of Sonya‘s electrocution, the event that also spurred the Williamsons’ predicate acts associated with the filing of the state court suit. The commonality in the source of those predicate acts suggests that the predicate acts that led to the CIGNA
checks and the predicate acts connected to the filing of the lawsuit were related and formed one pattern of racketeering activity. If we were to discern only one pattern of racketeering activity, then this case would not fit easily within the Newmyer holding.13
Despite the problems, we believe that St. Paul has sufficiently distinguished and established a genuine issue of material fact as to the existence of a prior pattern of racketeering activity, which may have produced income that was invested into a RICO enterprise, causing injuries to St. Paul in the form of legal costs. Although St. Paul may have confusingly included those predicate acts that formed the prior pattern of racketeering activity with those predicate acts that injured St. Paul pursuant to
As for the income from the MIC settlement checks, which were received by the Williamsons and which St. Paul raises in its reply brief as evidence of other racketeering income having been invested into a RICO enterprise, we affirm the district court. Generally, we deem abandoned those issues not presented and argued in an appellant‘s initial brief, nor do we consider matters not presented to the trial court. See Webb v. Investacorp Inc., 89 F.3d 252, 257 n. 2 (5th Cir.1996). In its initial brief, St. Paul tangentially referred to the Williamsons’ receipt of disability checks in general, but any reference to those checks were in the context of its general allegations concerning the Williamsons’ fraudulent RICO scheme. St. Paul did not challenge the district court‘s ruling that there was no genuine issue of material fact as to the lack of racketeering income other than the CIGNA checks. Likewise, St. Paul‘s response to the Williamsons’ summary judgment motion was deficient with respect to any argument that there was evidence supporting the receipt of income, in the form of the MIC settlement checks, from a pattern of racketeering activity.14 Accordingly, we believe that St. Paul has abandoned any argument regarding the existence of evidence pertaining to income derived from a pattern of racketeering activity.
2. Section 1962(c)
As previously noted,
Like the overwhelming majority of our sister circuits, we have held that subsection (c) requires that the RICO person be distinct from the RICO enterprise. See Bishop v. Corbitt Marine Ways, Inc., 802 F.2d 122, 122-23 (5th Cir.1986) (collecting cases); see also Crowe, 43 F.3d at 206 (“[A] RICO person cannot employ or associate with himself under [§ 1962(c)]“.); In re Burzynski, 989 F.2d 741, 743 (5th Cir.1993) (citing Bishop). Here, St. Paul identified Robert, Sonya, and Arlone as defendants, and thus as RICO persons. Moreover, it alleged that the enterprise was essentially the association-in-fact of Robert, Sonya, and Arlone.
The district court viewed those allegations as failing to establish any distinction between the RICO defendants and the RICO enterprise, and it dismissed St. Paul‘s
St. Paul does not dispute the district court‘s reading of the Burzynski and Crowe holdings. It concedes that those decisions seem to hold that members of an association-in-fact enterprise cannot also be RICO persons for purposes of a
First off, we note that the Supreme Court vacated the judgment in Khurana. See Teel v. Khurana, 525 U.S. 979, 119 S.Ct. 442, 142 L.Ed.2d 442 (1998). Second, even if Khurana altered the landscape of the person/enterprise distinction in our circuit, we are bound to the holdings in Burzynski and Crowe, assuming that those are our earliest pronouncements on this issue. See United States v. Texas Tech Univ., 171 F.3d 279, 285 n. 9 (5th Cir.1999), cert. denied, 530 U.S. 1202, 120 S.Ct. 2194, 147 L.Ed.2d 231 (2000) (observing that when two prior panel decisions conflict, the first decision controls); see also Luna v. United States Dep‘t of Health & Human Servs., 948 F.2d 169, 172 (5th Cir.1991).
Nonetheless, reviewing Elliott and some of the other decisions that led to the Burzynski and Crowe decisions, we believe that St. Paul makes a meritorious argument. In Elliott, the government prosecuted six individuals for RICO violations.15 See Elliott, 571 F.2d at 895. Those six individuals comprised the association-in-fact enterprise. See id. at 898 n. 18. Of the six, two were charged as defendants for violating
Thus, when Bishop, the decision to which the Burzynski court cited for support, held that to state a
The reason for differentiating in the
Where persons associate “in fact” for criminal purposes, . . . each person may be held liable under RICO for his, her or its participation in conducting the affairs of the association in fact through a pattern of racketeering activity. But the nebulous association in fact does not itself fall within the RICO definition of “person[]“. . . . In the association in fact situation, each participant in the enterprise may be a “person” liable under RICO, but the association itself cannot be. By contrast, a corporation obviously qualifies as a “person” under RICO and may be subject to RICO liability.
Id. at 401. Thus, courts have routinely required a distinction when a corporation has been alleged as both a RICO defendant and a RICO enterprise, but a similar requirement has not been mandated when individuals have been named as defendants and as members of an association-in-fact RICO enterprise.16
Indeed, “[a] collective entity is something more than the members of which it is comprised.” United States v. Fairchild, 189 F.3d 769, 777 (8th Cir.1999) (quoting Atlas Pile Driving Co. v. DiCon Fin. Co., 886 F.2d 986, 995 (8th Cir.1989)). “Although a defendant may not be both a person and an enterprise, a defendant may be both a person and a part of an enterprise. In such a case, the individual defendant is distinct from the organizational entity.” Id. Otherwise, an individual member of a collective enterprise, such as an association-in-fact, could not be prosecuted for violating
3. Section 1962(d)
Under
C. Appeal No. 98-31243
In the third and final consolidated appeal, we must determine whether the district court erred in enjoining Sonya, Robert, their children, and their agents from pursuing the state court nullification suit. Under the Anti-Injunction Act, a federal court may not grant an injunction to stay proceedings in a state court “except as expressly authorized by an Act of Congress, or where necessary in aid of its jurisdiction, or to protect or effectuate its judgments.” Next Level Communications LP v. DSC Communications Corp., 179 F.3d 244, 249 (5th Cir.1999). These exceptions are narrowly construed. See id. The district court granted the injunction based on the exception to protect or effectuate its judgment, otherwise known as the relitigation exception. That exception “was designed to permit a federal court to prevent state litigation of an issue that previously was presented to and decided by the federal court.” Id. (quoting Chick Kam Choo v. Exxon Corp., 486 U.S. 140, 147 (1988)). Although generally the grant of a preliminary injunction is reviewed for abuse of discretion, we review the district court‘s application of the relitigation exception de novo. See Next Level, 179 F.3d at 249.
To apply the exception, the parties to the original action must have actually disputed the issue and the trier of fact must have actually resolved it. See Santopadre v. Pelican Homestead & Sav. Ass‘n, 937 F.2d 268, 273 (5th Cir.1991). In determining which issues have been actually litigated, the federal court is free to go beyond the judgment and may examine the pleadings and the evidence in the prior action. See id. If a question of fact is put in issue by the pleadings, is submitted to
the jury or other trier of facts for its determination, and is determined, then that question of fact has been actually litigated. See id.
The state court nullification petition alleges that several acts committed by the insurance parties during the course of the state court negligence trial constituted ill practices within the meaning of article 2004. Among the acts were the nondisclosure of: (1) the identity of George Casellas, the insurance parties’ non-testifying expert; (2) Casellas’ photograph of the wall switch; (3) evidence indicating water migration from the second floor to Room 170; and (4) the replacement of the wall switch and lamp fixture in Room 170. Similar allegations were included as part of the Williamsons’ RICO counterclaims in the federal suit. Indeed, attorney Smith conceded that the facts pertaining to the nullification suit were essentially the same as those involved in the RICO counterclaims. In the federal suit, the district court granted summary judgment dismissing the RICO counterclaims, finding: (1) that there was a lack of evidence showing an alleged scheme by the insurance parties to present a fraudulent defense in the state negligence suit; (2) that the existence of certain photographs not revealing a cement slab between Rooms 170 and 270 did not confirm a scheme to defraud; (3) that any alleged alterations of the wall switch or the hanging lamp were not indicative of a scheme to defraud; (4) that the possible creation of a drain hole above Room 170 after Sonya‘s electrocution did not confirm a scheme to defraud; (5) that none of the evidence submitted by the Williamsons indicated that Sonya‘s electrocution could not have been staged or fraudulent; and (6) that an abundance of evidence pointed to the possibility of fraud by the Williamsons.
The district court‘s findings clearly demonstrate that the court considered and adjudged the issue of fraud. But the amorphous and broad definition of ill practices suggests that the district court did not actually litigate an ultimate issue of fact that precludes the possibility of litigating the issue of ill practices and the corresponding nullification claim. Indeed, none of the findings say directly that the insurance parties’ actions were not ill practices. Accordingly, those findings do not prevent the litigation of whether some of the alleged acts committed by the insurance parties were improper practices that operated, even innocently, to deprive the Williamsons some legal right.
The grant of summary judgment in favor of St. Paul on the counterclaims asserted by the Williamsons in the federal court proceeding for acts of RICO and fraud that allegedly occurred during the state court trial is sufficient to support an injunction by the federal court to prevent relitigation in the state court of “fraud” as a grounds for nullification of the original state court decision. But that summary judgment is insufficient to prevent relitigation of “ill practices” under the Louisiana statute. Consequently, we vacate the injunction issued by the district court and remand that injunctive relief to the district court for reissuance by the district court so as to be expressly limited to the fraud issue.
CONCLUSION
Besides the procedural irregularity associated with the sua sponte grant of summary judgment, the jury finding that Sonya‘s injuries were the “result of a staged accident or fraud” does not, as a matter of law, satisfy all of the elements of a malicious prosecution claim. Therefore, the district court erred in applying Louisiana res judicata law to hold that Sonya was liable on the malicious prosecution theory. Accordingly, we vacate the judgment against Sonya and remand the malicious prosecution claim of St. Paul to the district court for trial on the merits. In addition, we affirm the district court‘s evidentiary rulings and the summary judgment dismissing the Williamsons’ counterclaims.
As for St. Paul‘s RICO claims, we vacate and remand the following for proceedings consistent with this opinion: 1) the judgment in favor of the Williamsons with respect to St. Paul‘s
Finally, we vacate the injunction issued by the district court and remand that injunctive relief to the district court for reissuance by the district court so as to be expressly limited to the fraud issue.
All outstanding motions are denied.
I respectfully dissent. Despite the majority‘s exacting discussion of the issues that allegedly preclude affirming the trial court‘s judgment, I am unpersuaded on two conclusions in particular: that the jury finding of a staged or fraudulent action does not subsume the elements of malicious prosecution1; and that the injunction against litigation of the Williamsons’ “ill practices” claim must be overturned.2 The result of these twin rulings is to nullify the original verdict—extraordinary as it is—that Sonya‘s electrocution claim was staged or fraudulent.
Far worse, though, is the parties’ abuse of the courts over the last decade. To stage an accident for insurance tribute is reprehensible. But it‘s also hard to see what good, or what collectable money judgment, may come of a RICO suit against these pathetic perpetrators. This litigation, like this dissent, should end!