Globe International Inc. v. Superior Court

This petition for writ of mandate raises a question of first impression: Can a person aggrieved by the taking and publication of photographs and the publication and distribution of the photographs with an accompanying text in a widely distributed newspaper state a cause of action under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO). ( 18 U.S.C. § 1961 et seq.) The answer is no. The RICO cause of action which plaintiff Joan Collins (Collins) attempts to allege rests entirely on ordinary tort allegations of invasion of privacy, intentional infliction of emotional distress, and libel. We hold that as a matter of law, distribution of a newspaper, even if that newspaper contains an “injurious falsehood,” is not an act of “racketeering” for purposes of satisfaction of the RICO requirement of illegal conduct. Collins can allege no “racketeering” activity against Globe International, Inc. Common law torts such as the invasion of privacy/ injurious falsehood claims alleged here do not constitute the type of conduct which RICO was intended to prohibit.

Introductory Statement

A story in the August 20, 1991, edition of a newspaper, distributed by Globe International,…