New York District Council of Carpenters Pension Fund v. Forde
Plaintiffs, jointly-administered employee benefit plans (Funds), brought an action against Defendants Joseph Olivieri, EMB Contracting Corp., Michael Batalias, Elisavet Batalias, and Michael Brennan, alleging civil RICO and RICO conspiracy statutes violations, breach of fiduciary duty under ERISA, and New York common law fraud. The lawsuit stems from a racketeering conspiracy where defendants allegedly embezzled funds by bribing labor representatives and avoiding required contributions. Defendants filed motions to dismiss the complaint and a motion to strike, raising arguments concerning the statute of limitations, satisfaction of judgment, and failure to state a claim for RICO conspiracy or common law fraud. The court denied all motions, concluding that the statute of limitations could be equitably tolled due to fraudulent concealment and that the plaintiffs had sufficiently pleaded their claims.