Both sides claimed victory after Judge Elaine E. Bucklo of Federal District Court, in a 20-page decision, dismissed most of the counts against the two companies but upheld two racketeering complaints.
The judge rejected Block's request to dismiss the two racketeering complaints because Block's counsel, in an unusual tactic, participated in drafting a previous complaint that accused the company of violating the racketeering statute.
Block's lawyers even drafted the complaint it wanted filed against itself, including a racketeering charge.
Judge Kaufman dismissed a racketeering charge.
Seyfarth Shaw is also currently defending the Weinstein Co. against a racketeering class action complaint alleging that the company was complicit in Harvey Weinstein's sexual misconduct.
Judge Kauffman dismissed a racketeering count, as well as complaints that New York Life's use of internal funds violated the Employee Retirement Income Security Act.
Specifically, the complaint accuses Credit Suisse and Cushman & Wakefield of racketeering, breach of fiduciary duty, mail and wire fraud, money laundering and negligence.
Robert F. Bauer, the Democratic lawyer who drew up the complaint, said he believed it was the first time the racketeering statute has been applied in a political fund-raising case, although the conservative legal watchdog group Judicial Watch cited the law in one of its complaints against the Clinton-Gore re-election committee of 1996.
Over the last 50 years, the United States has seen several waves of lawsuits against tobacco firms, including complaints by individuals, class action suits and a massive racketeering case.
The 65-page complaint alleged the group is a "complex criminal enterprise" that violated racketeering laws, set up a fake company and secured false identification to access private conferences and meetings in California, Maryland and Florida.
