Ford RICO Lawsuit Over Los Angeles Lawyers’ Billing Tossed (1)

A Los Angeles federal judge dismissed Ford Motor Co.‘s lawsuit against several local attorneys, which alleged that they fraudulently inflated their legal fees in Lemon Law cases.

The lawsuit burdens the lawyers’ protected right to file lawsuits and petition the court, and it doesn’t meet the elements of a valid Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act claim, Judge Michelle Williams Court of the US District Court for the Central District of California said. Ford had argued the case doesn’t burden the attorneys’ petitioning rights because perjury is unprotected.

“Rather than arguing that legal fee declarations were part of a ...