Fraud and RICO actions.

- Since the requisite predicate acts in the insureds' Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act, O.C.G.A. § 16-14-1 et seq., claim could stand alone as a separate cause of action for fraud, the jury found the insurer guilty of both fraud and RICO violations, and because the insurer did not challenge the form of the verdict on appeal, its claim that the insureds' fraud claim was barred by the election of remedies doctrine was rejected. St. Paul Fire & Marine Ins. Co. v. Clark, 255 Ga. App. 14, 566 S.E.2d 2 (2002).

When each of the victims of a fraudulent scheme sued the perpetrator for fraud and related claims, the victims could have also sued the perpetrator under the Georgia Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO), O.C.G.A. § 16-14-1 et seq., in the same action, and the victims should have raised such a claim in those actions because, when the victims did not, and lost the victims' suits against the perpetrator, the victims were barred by collateral estoppel and res judicata from filing RICO claims against the perpetrator at a later time. Austin v. Cohen, 268 Ga. App. 650, 602 S.E.2d 146 (2004).