AmeriSource Corp. v. United States

75 Fed. Cl. 743, 2007 U.S. Claims LEXIS 89, 2007 WL 949805
CourtUnited States Court of Federal Claims
DecidedMarch 23, 2007
DocketNo. 04-610C
StatusPublished
Cited by8 cases

This text of 75 Fed. Cl. 743 (AmeriSource Corp. v. United States) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering United States Court of Federal Claims primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
AmeriSource Corp. v. United States, 75 Fed. Cl. 743, 2007 U.S. Claims LEXIS 89, 2007 WL 949805 (uscfc 2007).

Opinion

OPINION

BASKIR, Judge.

The present matter comes before us for the second time on the Government’s renewed motion to dismiss. AmeriSource Corporation is a wholesale distributor of pharmaceuticals whose products were seized and retained as evidence in criminal proceedings [744]*744against third parties. The Plaintiff, which is not implicated in the criminal activities of the third parties, alleges a Fifth Amendment taking. It demands just compensation in excess of $150,000, the original value of the pharmaceuticals which have since aged beyond their expiration date. Defendant contends that the retention of the property falls within the Government’s police power and is, therefore, not compensable under the takings doctrine.

Although we do not accept all of the Government’s arguments, we conclude that AmeriSource’s claims are not compensable under takings jurisprudence. We, therefore, GRANT Defendant’s motion.

Factual Background

Although familiarity with the following facts is not necessary for the resolution of the legal issues in this case, we relate them in some detail to provide the context in which the legal issues arise.

Seizure of Pharmaceuticals

In early August 2000, AmeriSource entered into a contract to sell Viagra, Xenical, and Propeeia to Norfolk Pharmacy (Norfolk) for $150,856.26. Plaintiff delivered fully conforming shipments of the drugs to Norfolk at the latter’s principal place of business in Weirton, West Virginia.

On July 27, 2000, immediately prior to entering into this contract, Norfolk’s principals, Anita Yates and Anton Pusztai, were indicted by a Federal grand jury in Alabama. They were charged with conspiracy, unlawful distribution of prescription pharmaceuticals, dispensing misbranded pharmaceuticals, operating an unregistered drug facility, and conspiracy to commit money laundering.

On August 7, 2000, the United States executed a search warrant of Norfolk’s facility in Weirton, West Virginia. As part of its investigation, the United States Attorney for the Middle District of Alabama seized a large quantity of pharmaceuticals, including the pharmaceuticals that had just been shipped by AmeriSource. Norfolk had not tendered payment to AmeriSource at the time of seizure. Norfolk has since become defunct, with the outstanding AmeriSource debt left unresolved.

Plaintiff’s Rule 41(e) Motion

On October 2, 2000, AmeriSource filed a motion in the United States District Court for the Middle District of Alabama seeking an order requiring the Government to return the seized pharmaceuticals to AmeriSource. AmeriSource Corporation’s Motion for Release of Property (Oct. 2, 2000); DefApp. 1-7. Although it was not captioned as such, the court treated AmeriSource’s request as a formal motion under Rule 41(e) of the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure. The rule, which has since been renumbered Rule 41(g) without substantive changes, provides the following remedy to property owners in Plaintiffs position:

A person aggrieved by an unlawful search and seizure of property or by the deprivation of property may move for the property’s return. The motion must be filed in the district where the property was seized. The court must receive evidence on any factual issue necessary to decide the motion. If it grants the motion, the court must return the property to the movant, but may impose reasonable conditions to protect access to the property and its use in later proceedings.

Fed.R.CrimP. 41(g) (emphasis added).

In connection with its motion, Plaintiff argued that the pharmaceuticals would soon expire and become worthless. Motion for Release of Property; Def.App. 2. The United States opposed AmeriSource’s motion, claiming these pharmaceuticals were required as evidence in the criminal trials of Ms. Yates and Mr. Pusztai. See Government’s Response to AmeriSource Corporation’s Motion for Release of Property (Oct. 17, 2000); Def. App. 14-19. Furthermore, the Government assured the Court that it would complete the trial well in advance of the expiration dates listed on the pharmaceuticals. Id. at 18. The expiration dates were in April and May of 2003, two and one-half years away at that point in time.

In its reply brief, AmeriSource suggested the Court could order the prosecution to retain a representative sample of the pharmaceuticals for trial and return the balance. See (AmeriSource Corporation’s Reply Regarding Motion for Release of Property Dec. [745]*74520, 2000); Def.App. 20 (“The government cannot retain per se legal property for evidentiary purposes when its interests can be adequately served by counting, weighing, testing, photographing, photocopying or retaining a small sample of the product”) (citing Moore’s Federal Practice, § 641.21[5], 641-82). AmeriSource indicated that both Ms. Yates and Mr. Pusztai consented to the release of the property back to AmeriSource. Def.App. 21.

The district court permitted AmeriSource to inspect the seized drugs in order to identify those drugs it had shipped to Norfolk. Apparently the search of the Norfolk business yielded drugs from other sources, as well. Plaintiff identified several items among the seized evidence that it had shipped to Norfolk but could not identify the entire shipment. See AmeriSource Corporation’s Report Regarding Inspection of Property (Feb. 22, 2001) and AmeriSource Corporation’s Response to Order (Mar. 8, 2001); Def. App. 24-29.

On March 20, 2001, the United States filed a supplemental response to the Plaintiffs motion, rejecting the proposal to use only a representative sample of the seized pharmaceuticals. Government’s Supplemental Response to AmeriSource Corporation’s Motion for Release of Property (Mar. 21, 2001); Def. App. 30-40. The prosecution’s trial strategy was to present all of the property in question at trial, in order to establish the illicit nature of the criminal defendants’ sales activity. The Government also reiterated that AmeriSource had failed to avail itself of available civil remedies against Norfolk and its principals. Id. at 39-40.

Finally, on January 28, 2002, almost 18 months after the Government first took custody of Plaintiffs property, the magistrate judge issued a recommendation that the district court deny the Plaintiffs motion. Recommendation and Order, Magistrate Judge Susan Russ Walker (Jan. 28, 2002); Def.App. 41-46. AmeriSource failed to file any objections to the magistrate’s recommendation. Consequently, on February 11, 2002, the presiding judge adopted the recommendation and denied the Rule 41(e) motion. Order, Case No. 00-109-N (Feb. 11, 2002); Def. App. 47. In the Discussion that follows, we address in more detail the Rule 41 proceedings.

Criminal Trial and Subsequent Appeals

Ms. Yates and Mr. Pusztai were convicted in June of 2002. Contrary to the Government’s position in the litigation of the Rule 41 motion, prosecutors did not use as evidence the drugs which had been identified by AmeriSource. Notwithstanding the success of the prosecution, and the impending expiration of the pharmaceuticals, the drugs were not returned to AmeriSource. Instead, they were retained for possible use in a retrial.

That precaution proved prescient. Ms. Yates and Mr.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
75 Fed. Cl. 743, 2007 U.S. Claims LEXIS 89, 2007 WL 949805, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/amerisource-corp-v-united-states-uscfc-2007.