Wardlaw v. Whitney National Bnk

UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE FIFTH CIRCUIT __________________ No. 96-30504 __________________ LULA BELLE WARDLAW, The Succession of, through its executor, Marvin E. Owen, Plaintiff-Appellant, versus THE WHITNEY NATIONAL BANK; J. CLEVELAND LANGLOIS, JR.; SOUTHERN TROPICAL PETS, INC., doing business as Paradise Pets; SAM S. BEER, JR.; HALVOR E. MELKILD, III, Defendants-Appellees. ______________________________________________ Appeal from the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana (94-CV-2026-N) ______________________________________________ June 9, 1997 Before GARWOOD, BENAVIDES, and STEWART, Circuit Judges. PER CURIAM:* Plaintiff-Appellant, the succession of Lula Belle Wardlaw, appeals the dismissal under FED. R. CIV. P. 12(b)(6) of its claim brought under the civil provisions of the federal Racketeer * Pursuant to Local Rule 47.5, the court has determined that this opinion should not be published and is not precedent except under the limited circumstances set forth in Local Rule 47.5.4. Influenced and Corrupt Organization Act (RICO), 18 U.S.C. § 1961 et seq. After considering the briefs and oral arguments of the parties and carefully examining the record, we affirm for essentially the same reasons as set forth by the district court. The district court correctly concluded that the plaintiff’s allegations failed to establish a pattern of racketeering under the closed-end concept of continuity, and therefore failed to state a RICO claim. Accordingly, the judgment of the district court is AFFIRMED. 2