Supreme Court Report

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Medical Marijuana, Inc., et al. v. Douglas J. Horn

Paid petition · United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, No. 22-349-cv · judgment August 22, 2023


Decided · April 2, 2025
Pre-decision estimate: 56% cert probability (95% interval 45%–67%)

Before the decision, about 13.7× the 4.1% base rate. The model weighted this up for a petition filed soon after the judgment below, counsel who has won certiorari before, and a Second Circuit decision below.

Question presented

The Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO) creates a civil treble-damages action for “[a]ny person injured in his business or property by reason of” certain offenses. 18 U.S.C. § 1964(c). The question presented is: Whether economic harms resulting from personal injuries are injuries to “business or property by reason of” the defendant's acts for purposes of civil RICO.

Counsel of record

For petitioner
Lisa S. Blatt
Williams & Connolly LLP

For respondent
Jeffrey Marc Benjamin
The Linden Law Group, P.C.

Case

Conference history
Distributed for 3 conferences

Amicus briefs
1 cert-stage · 7 merits
(5 supporting pet./neither, 2 respondent)

Argument & decision

Argued October 15, 2024 — Lisa S. Blatt · Easha Anand. Audio and transcript

Decided April 2, 2025. Opinion by Barrett.

Proceedings

  1. May 05 2025
    Judgment Issued.
  2. Apr 02 2025
    Judgment is affirmed and case remanded. Barrett, J., delivered the opinion of the Court, in which Sotomayor, Kagan, Gorsuch, and Jackson, JJ., joined. Jackson, J., filed a concurring opinion. Thomas, J., filed a dissenting opinion. Kavanaugh, J., filed a dissenting opinion, in which Roberts, C. J., and Alito, J., joined.
  3. Oct 15 2024
    Argued. For petitioners: Lisa S. Blatt, Washington, D. C. For respondent: Easha Anand, Stanford, Cal.
  4. Sep 24 2024
    Reply of petitioners Medical Marijuana, Inc., et al. filed. (Distributed)
  5. Sep 04 2024
    Brief amicus curiae of American Association for Justice filed. (Distributed)
  6. Sep 04 2024
    Brief amicus curiae of Human Trafficking Legal Center filed. (Distributed)
  7. Aug 28 2024
    Brief of respondent Douglas Horn filed. (Distributed)
  8. Aug 23 2024
    Brief amicus curiae of Thomas Fuller Ogden filed. (Distributed)
  9. Aug 08 2024
    CIRCULATED
  10. Aug 01 2024
    Record received electronically from the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit and available with the Clerk.
  11. Jul 26 2024
    SET FOR ARGUMENT on Tuesday, October 15, 2024.
  12. Jul 26 2024
    Record requested from the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit.
  13. Jul 16 2024
    Brief amicus curiae of U.S. Hemp Roundtable, Inc. filed.
  14. Jul 16 2024
    Brief amici curiae of DRI Center for Law & Public Policy and Atlantic Legal Foundation filed.
  15. Jul 16 2024
    Brief amici curiae of Chamber of Commerce of the United States of America, et al. filed.
  16. Jul 11 2024
    Brief amicus curiae of Washington Legal Foundation filed.
  17. Jul 09 2024
    Brief of petitioners Medical Marijuana, Inc., et al. filed.
  18. Jul 09 2024
    Joint appendix filed. (Statement of costs filed)
  19. May 13 2024
    Motion to extend the time to file the briefs on the merits granted. The time to file the joint appendix and petitioners' brief on the merits is extended to and including July 9, 2024. The time to file respondent's brief on the merits is extended to and including August 28, 2024.
  20. May 07 2024
    Motion for an extension of time to file the briefs on the merits filed.
  21. Apr 29 2024
    Petition GRANTED.
  22. Apr 22 2024
    DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 4/26/2024.
  23. Apr 03 2024
    DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 4/19/2024.
  24. Apr 03 2024
    Reply of petitioners Medical Marijuana, Inc., et al. filed. (Distributed)
  25. Mar 18 2024
    Brief of respondent Douglas Horn in opposition filed.
  26. Feb 15 2024
    Motion to extend the time to file a response is granted and the time is further extended to and including March 18, 2024.
  27. Feb 13 2024
    Motion to extend the time to file a response from February 16, 2024 to March 18, 2024, submitted to The Clerk.
  28. Jan 16 2024
    Motion to extend the time to file a response is granted and the time is further extended to and including February 16, 2024.
  29. Jan 09 2024
    Motion to extend the time to file a response from January 17, 2024 to February 16, 2024, submitted to The Clerk.
  30. Dec 07 2023
    Motion to extend the time to file a response is granted and the time is extended to and including January 17, 2024.
  31. Dec 01 2023
    Motion to extend the time to file a response from December 18, 2023 to January 17, 2024, submitted to The Clerk.
  32. Nov 16 2023
    Response Requested. (Due December 18, 2023)
  33. Nov 14 2023
    DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 12/1/2023.
  34. Nov 07 2023
    Waiver of right of respondent Douglas Horn, et al. to respond filed.
  35. Nov 06 2023
    Brief amici curiae of Atlantic Legal Foundation, et al. filed.
  36. Oct 03 2023
    Petition for a writ of certiorari filed. (Response due November 6, 2023)