Summit Properties Inc. v. Hoechst Celanese Corp.

PATRICK E. HIGGINBOTHAM, Circuit Judge:

Today we are invited to read RICO as establishing a federal products liability scheme complete with treble damages and attorney fees for the benefit of end-users of defective products who never relied on manufacturers’ alleged misrepresentations of product quality. We are unpersuaded that RICO can be extended so far by such a marriage of distinct duties and liability regimes. Consequently, we AFFIRM the dismissal of the plaintiffs’ RICO claims against the defendant manufacturers of po-lybutylene plumbing systems and components.

I

The plaintiffs own…