Beck v. Prupis

529 U.S. 494 (2000)

From our private database of 46,400+ case briefs, written and edited by humans—never with AI.

Beck v. Prupis

United States Supreme Court
529 U.S. 494 (2000)

Facts

In 1987 certain high-level employees of a construction surety-bond company, Southeastern Insurance Group (SIG), including Ronald Prupis, Leonard Bellezza, William Paulus, Jr., Ernest Sabato, Harry Olstein, Frederick Mezey, and Joseph Littenberg (the senior employees) (defendants) began various racketeering endeavors. In early 1988, Robert Beck II (plaintiff), the CEO and director of SIG, discovered the illegal conduct of the senior employees and contacted regulators. The senior employees devised a plan to remove Beck from the company by hiring a consultant to write a report falsely stating Beck had not performed his material duties. The board then fired Beck. Beck sued the senior employees in federal district court, including a civil claim under 18 U.S.C. § 1964(c), the provision of the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO) that establishes a civil cause of action. Beck contended that the senior employees conspired to commit numerous racketeering activities and that his injury was proximately caused by an overt act done in furtherance of the conspiracy. The senior employees filed a motion for summary judgment on the ground that Beck did not have standing to sue under RICO for damages from loss of employment. The district court dismissed Beck’s RICO civil conspiracy claim, and the court of appeals affirmed. The Supreme Court granted certiorari upon appeal.

Rule of Law

Issue

Holding and Reasoning (Thomas, J.)

Dissent (Stevens, J.)

What to do next…

  1. Unlock this case brief with a free (no-commitment) trial membership of Quimbee.

    You’ll be in good company: Quimbee is one of the most widely used and trusted sites for law students, serving more than 832,000 law students since 2011. Some law schools even subscribe directly to Quimbee for all their law students.

  2. Learn more about Quimbee’s unique (and proven) approach to achieving great grades at law school.

    Quimbee is a company hell-bent on one thing: helping you get an “A” in every course you take in law school, so you can graduate at the top of your class and get a high-paying law job. We’re not just a study aid for law students; we’re the study aid for law students.

Here's why 832,000 law students have relied on our case briefs:

  • Written by law professors and practitioners, not other law students. 46,400 briefs, keyed to 994 casebooks. Top-notch customer support.
  • The right amount of information, includes the facts, issues, rule of law, holding and reasoning, and any concurrences and dissents.
  • Access in your classes, works on your mobile and tablet. Massive library of related video lessons and high quality multiple-choice questions.
  • Easy to use, uniform format for every case brief. Written in plain English, not in legalese. Our briefs summarize and simplify; they don’t just repeat the court’s language.

Access this case brief for FREE

With a 7-day free trial membership
Here's why 832,000 law students have relied on our case briefs:
  • Reliable - written by law professors and practitioners, not other law students
  • The right length and amount of information - includes the facts, issue, rule of law, holding and reasoning, and any concurrences and dissents
  • Access in your class - works on your mobile and tablet
  • 46,400 briefs - keyed to 994 casebooks
  • Uniform format for every case brief
  • Written in plain English - not in legalese and not just repeating the court's language
  • Massive library of related video lessons - and practice questions
  • Top-notch customer support

Access this case brief for FREE

With a 7-day free trial membership