Miller v. Yokohama Tire Corp.

This case involves an effort to transform a California state law wage and hour claim into a federal RICO claim under 18 U.S.C. § 1962 (c) and (d). Christopher Miller alleges that he is a victim of a mail fraud scheme by Yokohama Tire Corporation and its managers, who misrepresented his entitlement to overtime pay and consequently underpaid him. The district court dismissed Miller’s RICO claims under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6), without leave to amend, and remanded to state court his remaining state law claims. Because Miller’s complaint, as a matter of law, does not allege actionable fraud under the common law, we affirm. In affirming, we point out that Miller is not without a remedy in state court. We decline to expand RICO’s reach to transform the federal courts into a general venue for ordinary state wage disputes.

FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

Christopher Miller worked for Yokohama Tire Corporation (“Yokohama”) from 1990 until his termination in 2001. Miller alleges that throughout his eleven years of employment he was ordered to work many overtime hours for which he was never paid additional compensation. Miller claims that Rick Brennan, Stephen Kessing,…