United States v. Thirteen Thousand Dollars ($13,000.00) in U.S. Currency

747 F. Supp. 430, 1990 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 13224, 1990 WL 148665
CourtDistrict Court, S.D. Ohio
DecidedAugust 23, 1990
DocketNo. C2-89-862
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 747 F. Supp. 430 (United States v. Thirteen Thousand Dollars ($13,000.00) in U.S. Currency) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, S.D. Ohio primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
United States v. Thirteen Thousand Dollars ($13,000.00) in U.S. Currency, 747 F. Supp. 430, 1990 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 13224, 1990 WL 148665 (S.D. Ohio 1990).

Opinion

OPINION AND ORDER

GEORGE C. SMITH, District Judge.

This matter is before the Court pursuant to the plaintiff’s motion for summary judgment. The Claimant has filed a memorandum contra to the summary judgment motion to which the government has filed a reply memorandum.

This suit was originally brought through a Complaint for Forfeiture filed by the government on October 17, 1989. The forfeiture was brought pursuant to 21 U.S.C. § 881 with jurisdiction predicated upon 28 U.S.C. §§ 1345 and 1355.

FACTS

On July 7, 1989, officers of the Columbus Police Department observed Claimant David Nesser deplaning a flight from Atlanta, Georgia, carrying a small, brown, zippered, carry-on type bag. He was met at the gate by his brother Matthew Nesser. Based upon David Nesser’s general appearance, his flight’s place of origin, his lack of luggage, other than a carry-on bag, and other factors, he was identified as fitting the profile of a drug courier. The officers approached David Nesser, identified themselves, and asked if they could speak with him. Mr. Nesser agreed. The officers asked to see Mr. Nesser’s airline ticket, which he produced. It was , a one-way ticket from Atlanta, Georgia to Columbus, Ohio. The officers explained to Mr. Nesser that he fit the drug courier profile and asked permission to search his carry-on bag, to which Mr. Nesser agreed. The bag was found to contain several personal items and $13,000 in cash, consisting of 56 fifty dollar bills and 102 one-hundred dollar bills, bound by a single rubber band.

Mr. Nesser was asked about the large amount of cash in the bag, to which Mr. Nesser stated that he obtained the money from his mother-in-law, Toni McDuffie, who owns the Copper Dollar Saloon in Do-raville, Georgia. He further stated that he was bringing the money to his mother who lived in Columbus, Ohio. However, after obtaining additional information from Mr. Nesser, he related that the money was really for his brother “Dan” who is (was) expecting a baby. He reiterated that the money came from his mother-in-law. The Columbus Police Department contacted Mr. Nesser’s mother-in-law Toni McDuffie at her residence by telephone. She stated that she did not know anything about the money, only that she knew “he’s got some money on him but I don’t know how much or nothing else.”

A Columbus Police Department officer placed the $13,000 of U.S. currency taken from the Claimant in a sterile paper bag next to three identical sterile paper bags. The Columbus Police Department narcotics detector dog alerted only on the bag containing the currency. The dog has been trained to alert on the scent of controlled substances.

Furthermore, pursuant to telephone conversations with police officers of Doraville, Georgia’s Police Department, the Columbus Police Department learned that the Copper Dollar Saloon is a known drug establishment which caters to “bikers and the criminal element in the community.” (See, Verification of Complaint and Affidavit of Probable Forfeiture). The Columbus Police Department’s investigation has revealed that David Nesser has two previous drug convictions, one in 1980 for aggrava[432]*432ted trafficking in drugs for which he received a three to five years sentence, and in 1984 for abusing harmful intoxicants for which he received a six month sentence,

It was upon the above information that Magistrate Terrence Kemp found that there is probable cause to believe that said defendant is subject to forfeiture under 21 U.S.C. § 881. (See, October 18, 1989 Order). This Court, upon review of all relevant materials sees no reason to disturb the findings of the Magistrate. As such, probable cause exists for forfeiture of the defendant’s $13,000 of U.S. currency. The burden of proof now rests with the Claimant to show by a preponderance of the evidence that the property is not subject to forfeiture. United States v. 526 Liscum Drive, 866 F.2d 213, 216 (6th Cir.1988); United States v. Property at U92 S. Livonia Rd., Livonia, New York, 889 F.2d 1258 (2nd Cir.1989); United States v. A Single Family Residence, 803 F.2d 625, 628 (11th Cir.1986); United States v. $83,320 in United States Currency, 682 F.2d 573, 577 (6th Cir.1982); United States v. One 1975 Mercedes 280S, etc., 590 F.2d 196, 199 (6th Cir.1978). It is with that in mind that the Court now looks at the government’s motion for summary judgment.

STANDARD OF REVIEW

In considering this motion, the Court is mindful that the standard for summary judgment “mirrors the standard for a directed verdict under [Rule 50(a) ], which is that the trial judge must direct a verdict if, under the governing law, there can be but one reasonable conclusion as to the verdict.” Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1986) citing Brady v. Southern Ry. Co., 320 U.S. 476, 479-480, 64 S.Ct. 232, 234-235, 88 L.Ed. 239 (1943). Thus, the Supreme Court concluded in Anderson that a judge considering a motion for summary judgment must “ask himself not whether he thinks the evidence unmistakably favors one side or the other but whether a fair minded jury could return a verdict for the plaintiff on the evidence presented.” 477 U.S. at 252, 106 S.Ct. at 2512.

Rule 56(c) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure provides in pertinent part:

The judgment sought shall be rendered forthwith if the pleadings, depositions, answers to interrogatories, and admissions on file together with the affidavits, if any, show that there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and that the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law.

In essence, the inquiry is whether the evidence presented a sufficient disagreement to require submission to a jury or whether it is so one-sided that one party must prevail as a matter of law. Anderson, 477 U.S. at 252, 106 S.Ct. at 2512.

Such an inquiry necessarily implicates the evidentiary standard of proof that would apply at the trial on the merits. As a result, the Court must view the evidence presented through the prism of the substantive evidentiary burden. Rule 56(e) therefore requires that the nonmoving party go beyond the pleadings and by their own affidavits, or by the depositions, answers to interrogatories, and admissions on file, designate specific facts showing that there is a genuine issue for trial. Celotex Corp. v. Catrett,

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Bluebook (online)
747 F. Supp. 430, 1990 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 13224, 1990 WL 148665, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/united-states-v-thirteen-thousand-dollars-1300000-in-us-currency-ohsd-1990.