CINCINNATI (CN) - The 6th Circuit reinstated a racketeering case against the state of Kentucky, brought by minority-owned businesses that claimed the state certified the wrong companies for a minority business program.
Chaz Concrete Co. LLC and three other plaintiffs sued Kentucky Secretary of Transportation James Codell IIII and Kentucky Highway Engineer J.M. Yowell for allowing non-qualifying businesses to gain construction work through the Disadvantaged Business Enterprise program.
The plaintiffs alleged that the state committed mail fraud against the Federal Highway Administration under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act.
Before the appeal could take place, the U.S. Supreme Court issued an applicable ruling in Bridge v. Phoenix Bond and Indemnity Co.
"A plaintiff asserting a RICO claim predicated on mail fraud need not show ... that it relied on the defendant's alleged misrepresentations," the court ruled.
Because this changed the precedent the district court relied on when it granted summary judgment to the state, Judge Duggan reversed the decision and remanded for further proceedings.
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