Medical Marijuana, Inc. v. Horn
View Official PDFSummary
A short, plain-English overview of Medical Marijuana, Inc. v. Horn.
Douglas Horn sued Medical Marijuana, Inc. under RICO after testing positive for THC and losing his job. The Second Circuit ruled in favor of Horn, allowing recovery for business losses derived from personal injuries. The Supreme Court affirmed, stating that civil RICO permits recovery for business or property loss even if resulting from personal injury.
Holding
The single most important “bottom line” of what the Court decided in Medical Marijuana, Inc. v. Horn.
The Court held that under civil RICO, a plaintiff may seek treble damages for business or property loss even if the loss resulted from a personal injury.
Key Quotes
Short excerpts from the syllabus in Medical Marijuana, Inc. v. Horn that support the summary and concepts above.
"A plaintiff can seek damages for business or property loss, in other words, regardless of whether the loss resulted from a personal injury."
"The statute uses 'injured,' not 'injury,' and the dictionary Medical Marijuana relies on defines 'injured' only according to its ordinary meaning."
"Medical Marijuana insists that the Court's antitrust precedent settles the question, its reliance on antitrust law is misplaced."
