United States v. $122,640.00 in U.S. Currency

81 F. Supp. 3d 482, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 9191
CourtDistrict Court, D. Maryland
DecidedJanuary 26, 2015
DocketCivil No. JKB-13-3778
StatusPublished
Cited by4 cases

This text of 81 F. Supp. 3d 482 (United States v. $122,640.00 in U.S. Currency) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, D. Maryland primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
United States v. $122,640.00 in U.S. Currency, 81 F. Supp. 3d 482, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 9191 (D. Md. 2015).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM

JAMES K BREDAR, District Judge.

Pending before the Court is the Government’s motion for summary judgment on the issue of Claimant Samantha Banks’s standing to challenge the forfeiture of the Defendant currency. (ECF Nos. 34, 38.) The Court has considered it, Claimant’s response (ECF No. 43), and the reply (ECF No. 48). No hearing is necessary. Local Rule 105.6 (D.Md.2014). The motion will be granted.

I. Standard for Summary Judgment

“The court shall grant summary judgment if the movant shows that there is no genuine dispute as to any material fact and the movant is entitled to judgment as a matter of law.” Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(a); Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 322, 106 S.Ct. 2548, 91 L.Ed.2d 265 (1986) (citing predecessor to current Rule 56(a)). The [484]*484burden is on the moving party to demonstrate the absence of any genuine dispute of material fact. Adickes v. S.H. Kress & Co., 398 U.S. 144, 157, 90 S.Ct. 1598, 26 L.Ed.2d 142 (1970). If sufficient evidence exists for a reasonable jury to render a verdict in favor of the party opposing the motion, then a genuine dispute of material fact is presented and summary judgment should be denied. See Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 248, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1986). However, the “mere existence of a scintilla of evidence in support of the [opposing party’s] position” is insufficient to defeat a motion for summary judgment. Id. at 252, 106 S.Ct. 2505. The facts themselves, and the inferences to be drawn from the underlying facts, must be viewed in the light most favorable to the opposing party, Scott v. Harris, 550 U.S. 372, 378, 127 S.Ct. 1769, 167 L.Ed.2d 686 (2007); Iko v. Shreve, 535 F.3d 225, 230 (4th Cir.2008), who may not rest upon the mere allegations or denials of his pleading but instead must, by affidavit or other evidentiary showing, set out specific facts showing a genuine dispute for trial, Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(c)(1). Supporting and opposing affidavits are to be made on personal knowledge, contain such facts as would be admissible in evidence, and show affirmatively the competence of the affiant to testify to the matters stated in the affidavit. Rule 56(c)(4).

Two Supreme Court opinions have discussed a court’s responsibility to evaluate the plausibility of a nonmovant’s claim in the context of a motion for summary judgment. “If the factual context renders [a] claim implausible ... [the nonmovant] must come forward with more persuasive evidence to support [the] claim than would otherwise be necessary.” Matsushita Elec. Indus. Co. v. Zenith Radio Corp., 475 U.S. 574, 587, 106 S.Ct. 1348, 89 L.Ed.2d 538 (1986). “Where the record taken as a whole could not lead a rational trier of fact to find for the nonmoving party, there is no ‘genuine issue for trial.’ ” Id. Moreover, “[w]hen opposing parties tell two different stories, one of which is blatantly contradicted by the record, so that no reasonable jury could believe it, a court should not adopt that version of the facts for purposes of ruling on a motion for summary judgment.” Scott, 550 U.S. at 380, 127 S.Ct. 1769 (“Respondent’s version of events is so utterly discredited by the record that no reasonable jury could have believed him.”).

II. Facts

It is undisputed that $122,640 in U.S. currency was seized on September 12, 2013, at Baltimore-Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport (BWI) in Maryland from an unlocked bag that Claimant’s husband, Jerry Lee Banks, had checked for a flight from BWI to San Francisco, California, with a connection in Atlanta. It is further undisputed that the currency was discovered by a Transportation Security Administration (TSA) screen-er based upon an anomaly in the image of the bag as it was passing through the baggage scanner. Also, it is undisputed that the currency was either packaged inside vacuum-sealed plastic bags or in multiple bundles secured with rubber bands and concealed within the clothing inside the suitcase. Additional- evidence will be discussed in the Court’s analysis.

III. Standing

Although the Government and Claimant argue as to the inferences that should be drawn from the evidence before the Court, Claimant has failed to establish a genuine dispute of material fact on the question of whether she has standing to contest the forfeiture. A plaintiffs standing to sue in federal court is “an integral component of the case or controversy re[485]*485quirement” of Article III of the United States Constitution. Miller v. Brown, 462 F.3d 312, 316 (4th Cir.2006). A forfeiture claimant must have Article III standing to challenge a forfeiture. Such standing arises from either an ownership interest, a possessory interest, or a security interest in the specific property that is the subject of the forfeiture action. See United States v. $8,440,190.00 in U.S. Currency, 719 F.3d 49, 57 (1st Cir.2013); United States v. Real Property Located at 4527-4535 Michigan Ave., Detroit, Mich., 489 Fed.Appx. 855, 857 (6th Cir.2012) (unpublished); United States v. Miscellaneous Jewelry, 667 F.Supp. 232, 235-36 (D.Md.1987), aff'd sub nom. United States v. Walker, 889 F.2d 1317 (4th Cir.1989).

“Standing is a question of law for the court to decide; it is not a question of fact for the jury.” United States v. $543,190.00 in U.S. Currency, 535 F.Supp.2d 1238, 1248 (M.D.Ala.2008). Further, a forfeiture claimant has the burden to establish standing by a preponderance of the evidence. United States v. $119,030.00 in U.S. Currency, 955 F.Supp.2d 569, 576 (W.D.Va.2013). One asserting an ownership interest in the seized property must support that claim with evidence beyond a bare assertion of ownership. United States v. $133,420.00 in U.S. Currency, 672 F.3d 629, 639 (9th Cir.2012); United States v. $148,840.00 in U.S. Currency, 521 F.3d 1268, 1275 (10th Cir.2008); United States v. $38,570.00 in U.S. Currency, 950 F.2d 1108, 1112 (5th Cir.1992); $119,030, 955 F.Supp.2d at 576. “ ‘Ownership may be established by proof of actual possession, control, title, and financial stake.’” $119,030,

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81 F. Supp. 3d 482, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 9191, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/united-states-v-12264000-in-us-currency-mdd-2015.