Sedima, S.P.R.L. v. Imrex Co.

E942131

United States Supreme Court case civil RICO case

Sedima, S.P.R.L. v. Imrex Co. is a landmark 1985 U.S. Supreme Court decision that broadly interpreted civil RICO, making it easier for private plaintiffs to sue for damages arising from racketeering activity.

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All labels observed (2)

Label	Occurrences
Sedima, S.P.R.L. v. Imrex Co. canonical	1
Sedima, S.P.R.L. v. Imrex Co., 473 U.S. 479 (1985)	1

How this entity was disambiguated

This entity first appeared as the object of triple T11730682 — resolving that mention is where its identity was fixed. The disambiguator weighed these candidate entities and picked the highlighted one (or “None”, minting a new entity). This is how homonymy is resolved: the same surface form can point to different entities.

NED1 Entity disambiguation (via context triple) gpt-5-mini-2025-08-07

Target entity: Sedima, S.P.R.L. v. Imrex Co.
Context triple: [Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, notableUseInCase, Sedima, S.P.R.L. v. Imrex Co.]

A. Sibbach v. Wilson & Co.
Sibbach v. Wilson & Co. is a 1941 U.S. Supreme Court case that upheld the validity of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure under the Rules Enabling Act and helped define the scope of federal procedural rulemaking.
B. Schorsch Meier GmbH v Hennin
Schorsch Meier GmbH v Hennin is a notable English contract law case, associated with Lord Denning, concerning the enforcement of foreign currency judgments and the impact of European Community law on domestic legal principles.
C. Spartan Steel & Alloys Ltd v Martin & Co (Contractors) Ltd
Spartan Steel & Alloys Ltd v Martin & Co (Contractors) Ltd is a leading English Court of Appeal case on negligence and pure economic loss, noted for Lord Denning’s influential judgment limiting recovery for relational economic loss.
D. Reeves v. Sanderson Plumbing Products, Inc.
Reeves v. Sanderson Plumbing Products, Inc. is a 2000 U.S. Supreme Court decision that clarified the standards for proving age discrimination under the ADEA, particularly the role of pretext and circumstantial evidence in employment discrimination cases.
E. Barlow Clowes International Ltd v Eurotrust International Ltd
Barlow Clowes International Ltd v Eurotrust International Ltd is a leading Privy Council decision, delivered by Lord Hoffmann, that clarified the test for dishonest assistance in breach of trust within English equity and trust law.
F. None of above. chosen
G. Unsure - the case is ambiguous/there is not enough information to decide.

NED2 Entity disambiguation (via description) gpt-5-mini-2025-08-07

Target entity: Sedima, S.P.R.L. v. Imrex Co.
Target entity description: Sedima, S.P.R.L. v. Imrex Co. is a landmark 1985 U.S. Supreme Court decision that broadly interpreted civil RICO, making it easier for private plaintiffs to sue for damages arising from racketeering activity.

A. Sibbach v. Wilson & Co.
Sibbach v. Wilson & Co. is a 1941 U.S. Supreme Court case that upheld the validity of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure under the Rules Enabling Act and helped define the scope of federal procedural rulemaking.
B. Schorsch Meier GmbH v Hennin
Schorsch Meier GmbH v Hennin is a notable English contract law case, associated with Lord Denning, concerning the enforcement of foreign currency judgments and the impact of European Community law on domestic legal principles.
C. Spartan Steel & Alloys Ltd v Martin & Co (Contractors) Ltd
Spartan Steel & Alloys Ltd v Martin & Co (Contractors) Ltd is a leading English Court of Appeal case on negligence and pure economic loss, noted for Lord Denning’s influential judgment limiting recovery for relational economic loss.
D. Reeves v. Sanderson Plumbing Products, Inc.
Reeves v. Sanderson Plumbing Products, Inc. is a 2000 U.S. Supreme Court decision that clarified the standards for proving age discrimination under the ADEA, particularly the role of pretext and circumstantial evidence in employment discrimination cases.
E. Barlow Clowes International Ltd v Eurotrust International Ltd
Barlow Clowes International Ltd v Eurotrust International Ltd is a leading Privy Council decision, delivered by Lord Hoffmann, that clarified the test for dishonest assistance in breach of trust within English equity and trust law.
F. None of above. chosen

Statements (48)

Predicate	Object
instanceOf	United States Supreme Court case ⓘ civil RICO case ⓘ
characterization	landmark civil RICO decision ⓘ
citation	473 U.S. 479 ⓘ
citationStyle	Sedima, S.P.R.L. v. Imrex Co., 473 U.S. 479 (1985) ⓘ linked to: Sedima, S.P.R.L. v. Imrex Co.
country	United States ⓘ linked to: United States of America
court	Supreme Court of the United States ⓘ
decisionDate	1985 ⓘ
dissentingOpinionBy	Harry A. Blackmun ⓘ John Paul Stevens ⓘ
docketNumber	No. 84-648 ⓘ
holding	A civil RICO plaintiff need not allege a separate racketeering injury distinct from the injury caused by the predicate acts. ⓘ A civil RICO plaintiff need not show a prior criminal conviction of the defendant to bring a civil RICO action. ⓘ Injury to business or property by reason of a RICO violation is sufficient to confer standing under 18 U.S.C. § 1964(c). ⓘ The civil RICO cause of action is to be liberally construed in accordance with the statute’s remedial purposes. ⓘ
impact	Expanded availability of civil RICO actions for private plaintiffs. ⓘ Led to increased civil RICO litigation in federal courts. ⓘ
issue	Whether civil RICO requires a prior criminal conviction as a prerequisite to a civil action. ⓘ Whether civil RICO requires a showing of a special racketeering injury distinct from the harm caused by predicate acts. ⓘ
jurisdiction	federal question jurisdiction ⓘ
keyConcept	injury to business or property ⓘ liberal construction of remedial statutes ⓘ pattern of racketeering activity ⓘ
legalArea	civil RICO ⓘ federal civil procedure ⓘ
lowerCourt	United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit ⓘ
lowerCourtHolding	Imposed additional requirements for civil RICO standing, including racketeering injury and prior conviction. ⓘ
majorityJusticesJoining	Lewis F. Powell, Jr. ⓘ linked to: Lewis F. Powell Jr. Sandra Day O’Connor ⓘ Thurgood Marshall ⓘ Warren E. Burger ⓘ William H. Rehnquist ⓘ William J. Brennan, Jr. ⓘ linked to: William J. Brennan Jr.
majorityOpinionBy	Byron R. White ⓘ
petitioner	Sedima, S.P.R.L. ⓘ
proceduralPosture	Appeal from the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit ⓘ
relatedStatuteSection	18 U.S.C. § 1962 ⓘ 18 U.S.C. § 1964(c) ⓘ
remedyDiscussed	attorney’s fees for prevailing civil RICO plaintiffs ⓘ treble damages under civil RICO ⓘ
respondent	Imrex Co., Inc. ⓘ
statuteCitation	18 U.S.C. §§ 1961–1968 ⓘ
statuteInterpreted	Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act ⓘ linked to: Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO)
subjectMatter	private civil remedies for racketeering activity ⓘ
SupremeCourtDisposition	Reversed and remanded ⓘ
term	1984 Term ⓘ
vote	8-1 ⓘ
yearDecided	1985 ⓘ