These related appeals arise out of the termination of Angie Denton, Lynette Kearney, Donna O’Berry, Krystal Sikes, and Terri Smith collectively “plaintiffs” from their employment with SunTrust Bank. After they were fired, the plaintiffs filed the current action against several defendants, including Samuel Wylie, their supervisor at SunTrust, and the bank. Both their original and amended complaints assert claims against Wylie and SunTrust for violations of the Georgia’s Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act RICO1 , conspiracy to violate the Georgia RICO statute, common law fraud, and defamation. SunTrust filed a motion to dismiss the complaint in its entirety or, in the alternative, for a more definite statement, asserting that the facts alleged in the original complaint were insufficient to support the plaintiffs’ claims. The bank also filed a separate motion to dismiss under OCGA § 9-11-12 b 6, on the grounds that the plaintiffs’ RICO and common law fraud claims failed as a matter of law. Wylie filed a motion to dismiss the complaint in its entirety or, in the alternative, for a more definite statement. Additionally, he joined SunTrust’s motion under OCGA § 9-11-12 b 6 to dismiss the plaintiffs’ RICO and fraud claims. The trial court entered a series of orders in which it granted Wylie’s motion for a more definite statement,2 denied Wylie’s motion to dismiss the complaint for insufficient pleadings, denied the parties’ joint motion to dismiss the RICO and fraud claims, and denied SunTrust’s motion to dismiss the complaint or, in the alternative, for a more definite statement. The trial court certified its orders for immediate review, Wylie and SunTrust each filed an application for an interlocutory appeal, and we granted both applications. These appeals followed.
In Case No. A13A0132, Wylie appeals from the orders of the trial court denying his motion to dismiss the complaint in its entirety because of insufficient pleadings and denying the joint motion to dismiss plaintiffs’ RICO and common law fraud claims. In Case No. A13A0133, SunTrust appeals from the orders of the trial court denying its motion to dismiss the complaint or, in the alternative, for a more definite statement, and the joint motion to dismiss the RICO and common law fraud claims asserted by the plaintiffs. For reasons explained below, we find that the plaintiffs cannot state a claim under the Georgia RICO statute or for common law fraud. We therefore reverse the orders of the trial court, entered in both Case No. A13A0132 and Case No. A13A0133, denying Wylie’s and SunTrust’s joint motion to dismiss those claims. Additionally, in Case No. A13A0132 we vacate the order of the trial court denying Wylie’s motion to dismiss the plaintiffs’ remaining claim, for defamation, and remand with direction. And in Case No. A13A0133 we vacate the order denying SunTrust’s motion to dismiss or, in the alternative, for a more definite statement of plaintiffs’ defamation claim and remand with direction.
