186
Opinion of the Court
F. 2d 664, 665-666 (CA1 1990); Bankers Trust Co. v. Rhoades, 859 F. 2d 1096, 1102 (CA2 1988), cert. denied, 490 U. S. 1007 (1989); Pocahontas Supreme Coal Co. v. Bethlehem Steel Corp., 828 F. 2d 211, 220 (CA4 1987); see also Riddell v. Rid-dell Washington Corp., 866 F. 2d 1480, 1489-1490 (CADC 1989) (assuming, but not deciding, that injury discovery rule applies). One court, the Third Circuit, has applied a "last predicate act" rule, which we shall discuss below. We also agreed to decide the Klehrs' argument that "reasonable diligence" is not a necessary component of the doctrine of "fraudulent concealment."
For reasons we shall describe, we affirm the judgment of the Court of Appeals.
II
A
We shall first discuss the Third Circuit's accrual rule—the "last predicate act" rule—for it is the only accrual rule that can help the Klehrs. Like the Eighth Circuit, the Third Circuit believes that the limitations period starts to run when a plaintiff knew or should have known that the RICO claim (including a "pattern of racketeering activity") existed, but the Third Circuit has added an important exception, which it states as follows:
"[If], as a part of the same pattern of racketeering activity, there is further injury to the plaintiff or further predicate acts occur, . . . the accrual period shall run from the time when the plaintiff knew or should have known of the last injury or the last predicate act which is part of the same pattern of racketeering activity. The last predicate act need not have resulted in injury to the plaintiff but must be part of the same pattern." Keystone Ins. Co. v. Houghton, 863 F. 2d 1125, 1130 (1988).
For purposes of assessing the rule's lawfulness, we assume, as do the Klehrs, that this rule means that as long as
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