Rotella v. Wood

Summary

Justice Souter delivered the unanimous opinion of the Court, holding that discovery of a pattern of racketeering activity does not postpone the commencement of civil RICO’s four-year limitations period. The Court affirmed the judgment rejecting Rotella’s action as untimely because the injury-and-pattern discovery rule would undermine repose, encourage stale claims, and frustrate Congress’s objective of encouraging prompt private enforcement. The Court did not choose between injury discovery and injury occurrence as the governing accrual rule, and it preserved the availability of equitable tolling in appropriate circumstances. There were no separate opinions.