ORDER AND OPINION
I.
This is an action under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organization Act (RICO), 18 U.S.C. § 1961 et seq., the 1933 Securities Act, 15 U.S.C. § 77a et seq., and the 1934 Securities Exchange Act, 15 U.S. C. § 78a et seq., together with pendent state claims. Plaintiffs, mother and daughter, allege that they were unsophisticated investors with no prior experience in the stock market. In 1979, plaintiffs opened one investment account each with Kidder, Peabody through its agent/broker, defendant Cross. They allege that Cross traded on the account for his personal benefit and without concern for plaintiffs’ legitimate investment needs (i.e., “churning”). The relevant counts on the motion before the Court are Counts III and IV alleging violation of RICO (one count for eаch plaintiff).
On February 23,1987, defendants moved to dismiss the RICO counts for failure to state a claim, Fed.R.Civ.P. 12(b)(6), or to require a more particular statement, Fed.R. Civ.P. 12(e). On March 5, plaintiffs filed a response arguing why the RICO counts met pleading standards. On March 11, the Court entered its standard order requiring that plaintiffs file a “RICO Case Statement” setting forth the factual and legal predicate for Counts III and IV. Plaintiffs filed their statement on March 26. Plaintiffs’ RICO case statement indicates that they rely exclusively on 18 U.S.C. § 1962(c). 1 At this time, plaintiffs have no reason to believe that defendants violated *245 18 U.S.C. § 1962(a), (b), or (d) — the other major RICO provisions.
Defendants responded with а supplemental brief arguing that: 1) a “pattern” of racketeering has not been alleged because plaintiffs simply rely on one alleged scheme implemented through a few acts; 2) RICO requires the “enterprise” to be distinct from the defendants; and 3) the enterprise must have an existence separate and apart from the pattern of racketeering activity. On April 22, plaintiffs responded to defendants’ supplemental brief. Argument was heard on the motion on June 1, followed by further argument on June 22 at the Court’s request.
For the following reasons, defendants’ motion to dismiss Counts III and IV in their entirety is DENIED, and defendant Kiddеr, Peabody’s motion to be dismissed as a defendant is GRANTED. While an allegation of churning on two accounts states a “pattern” under RICO, the enterprise cannot be joined as a defendant. Further, while the legal entity of Kidder, Peabody is an enterprise distinct from the alleged pattern of racketeering, an amendment to state an association in fact enterprise between Cross and Kidder, Peabody would be futile since that enterprise would not have an existence apart from the alleged pattern of racketeering.
II.
A.
The first issue is whether the conduct of churning alleged by plaintiffs supports thе RICO requirement of a “pattern.” Section 1962(b) states that a “pattern of racketeering activity” requires at least two acts of racketeering activity. Section 1962(a) defines “racketeering activity” to include mail fraud, 18 U.S.C. § 1341, and wire fraud, 18 U.S.C. § 1343. Defendants do not challenge the sufficiency of plaintiffs’ allegаtions of “predicate acts.”
Plaintiffs allege that, from March of 1979 to July of 1984, defendants engaged in two or more
2
instances of fraud in the sale of securities. In
Sedima, S.P.R.L. v. Imrex Co.,
The Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit has not interpreted the “pattern” requirement. Several judges of this district have interpreted it narrowly to require that the criminal acts be in furtherance of more than one criminal scheme.
See National Business Funding, Inc. v. Custom Muffler Specialists, Inc.,
Despite the Supreme Court’s invitation in
Sedima’s
dictum to construe the “pattern” requirement narrowly, the trend in some сourts has been in the opposite direction. In
Morgan v. Bank of Waukegan,
While defendants merely argue from general definitions in the case law as to what constitutes a RICO “pattern,” plaintiffs have cited numerous cases on point finding that allegations of churning, if well pleaded, state a RICO “pattern.”
E.g., Levine v. Merrill, Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith, Inc.,
B.
Furthermore, plaintiffs have described the churning with the requisite specificity for fraud claims. Fed.R.Civ.P. 9(b) and 12(e). Plaintiffs allege the beginning and ending dates of the churning, their account numbers, their average equity account values, their total average account values, the number of transactions, the dollar total of purchases, the turnover ratio of the equity account values, the turnover ratio of the entire accounts, the dollar total of commissions, the percentage of the equity account values paid in commissions, and the percentage of total average account values paid in commissions. This is sufficient to put defendants on notice of the claims against them, and it is not necessary to allege each and every transaction involved.
Nunes, supra,
III.
Plaintiffs say that Kidder, Peabody is the enterprisе under the statute. Section 1962(c) defines an “enterprise” to include any group of individuals associated in fact. The enterprise and the alleged pattern of racketeering cannot have a singular existence.
See U.S. v. Turkette,
Paragraphs 6b and 7 of plaintiffs’ RICO Case Statement satisfy this pleading requirement. Kidder, Peabody is alleged to have an existence (trading in securities) separate and apart from the racketeering claimed by plaintiffs (fraudulent trading in securities). Defendants mischaracterize plaintiffs’ complaint as alleging that the racketeering activity is the “sale of securities,” which would be synonymous with Kidder, Peabody’s existence as an enterprise and thus fail to meet the “separate and apаrt” requirement. On the contrary, plaintiffs more specifically plead that the racketeering occurred in
unnecessary
trading in securities, a fraudulent and narrower
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aspect of the enterprise’s normal activities. Plaintiffs have thus alleged that Kidder, Peabody has a “separate economic existence from the alleged pattern of rаcketeering.”
Barker v. Underwriters at Lloyd’s, London,
IV.
Sеction 1962(c) imposes liability on “any person employed by or associated with any enterprise....” Kidder, Peabody argues that the statutory language precludes naming the “enterprise” itself as a defendant, since only a “person” employed by or associated with the enterprise can be held liable under the language of section 1962(c).
The courts have been virtually unanimous in holding that a defendant may not be simultaneously the “enterprise” and a “person” who conducts the affairs of the enterprise through a pattern of racketeering activity.
See Levine, supra,
We conclude that “enterprise” was meant to refer to a being different from, not the same аs or part of, the person whose behavior the act was designed to prohibit, and, failing that, to punish. To be sure, the analogy between individuals and fictive persons such as corporations is not exact. Still, we would not take seriously, in the absence, at least, of very explicit statutory language, an assertion that a defendant could conspire with his right arm, which held, aimed and fired the fatal weapon.
Id. at 1190.
Plaintiffs rely on
Ross v. Omnibusch, Inc.,
While the opinion in
Bennett v. Berg
may be so read, neither the opinion in
Ross
nor plaintiffs’ argument is persuasive for rejecting the majority rule. Accordingly, the Court agrees with Kidder, Peabody’s reliance on the majority rule than an enterprise may not be a defendant under section 1962(c).
See Barker, supra,
*248 [S]ome courts have imposed direct RICO liability on legitimate businesses when they are alleged to be both the “person” violating the statute (through the acts of their employees and agents) and the affected “enterprise.” ... [S]ome courts have held legitimate businesses vicariously liable under RICO for the acts of their lower-level employees and agents under traditional principles of responde-at superior.
Under both lines of authority, courts have justified the imposition of liability on legitimate businesses for the acts of their agents or employees on the ground that “culpable” entities should not escape liability under RICO. In attempting to effectuate that goal, however, these courts have paid insufficient attention to what actually constitutes a “culpable” entity under RICO, as evidenced by RICO’s express statutory language and its underlying purposes. Indeed, these courts have painted with such a broad brush that they have created a costly anomaly: a stаtute enacted for the primary purpose of protecting legitimate businesses from infiltration by outside criminal interests has created liability for the infiltrated entity.
2 Civil RICO Report, supra, at 1 & n. 6.
Since plaintiffs have described Kidder, Peabody as the RICO “enterprise,” it must be dismissed.
V.
At the Hearing on June 22, plaintiffs requested leave to amend to dеfine the enterprise as an association in fact between Cross and Kidder, Peabody. Under this theory, Kidder, Peabody could be a defendant because it would not be synonymous with the enterprise.
Leave to amend should be freely granted where justice requires. Fed.R.Civ. P. 15(a). The motion is left to the sound discretiоn of the Court,
see Estes v. Kentucky Utilities Co.,
Plaintiffs allege only a passive role by Kidder, Peabody, i.e., that it allowed Cross to chum on their accounts. This is not the proper set of facts for recognizing Kidder, Peabody as a component of an association in fact. First, therе is no allegation of fraudulent activity by Kidder, Peabody but rather only negligence in failing to discover and stop Cross’s improper activities. Second, the broker is a lower-level employee of Kidder, Peabody and not one of its officers with significant influence or control over its affairs. Third, Kidder, Peabody has a legitimate existence apart from the alleged pattern of racketeering, and plaintiffs do not argue that it exists solely as a thinly-veiled alter ego constructed to insulate a wrongdoer. Finally, when considering these factors, it is not improper to note that plaintiffs seek to join Kidder, Peabody as a “deep pocket.” See McAr-thur & White, Civil RICO After Sedima: The New Weapon Against Business Fraud, 23 Hous.L.Rev. 742, 753-55 (1986); Note, RICO: The Corporation as “Enterprise” and Defendant, 52 U.Cin.L.Rev. 503 (1983). Plaintiffs have simply not pleaded facts that would justify subverting the majority rule against allowing the joinder of the enterprise as a defendant.
Finally, an association in fact between Kidder, Peabody and Cross for purposes of churning would have no existence apart from the alleged pattern of racketeering. (There is no suggestion that Kidder, Peabody and Cross constituted an association in fact for purposes of committing other illegal acts beyond the scope of the
*249
pattern alleged by plaintiffs.)
See Barker, supra,
SO ORDERED. 3
Notes
. "It shall be unlawful for any рerson employed by or associated with any enterprise engaged in, or the activities of which affect, interstate or foreign commerce, to conduct or participate, directly or indirectly, in the conduct of such enterprise’s affairs through a pattern of racketeering activity or collection of unlawful debts."
. The complaint alleges that defendants engaged in 291 and 280 transactions on each plaintiffs account, respectively, although the complaint does not allege that every one of these transactions was unlawful and solely for defendants’ own benefit.
. The dismissal of Kidder, Peabody is without prejudice to plaintiffs’ right to rename Kidder, Peabody as a defendant should discovery suggest a violation of section 1962(a) (i.e., if a “person” engaged in racketeering invested in the enterprise). Although the Court need not decide die issue at this time, there is some support for the view that the "enterprise” is a proper defendant under section 1962(a).
See, e.g., Haroco, Inc. v. American Nat'l Bank & Trust Co. of Chicago,
