TaiLexi AI U.S. Case Law

United States v. $2,490.00 in U.S. Currency, 2,610,000.00 in Mexican Pesos, and Walker B. Monroe

UNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. $2,490.00 IN U.S. CURRENCY, 2,610,000.00 in Mexican Pesos, Defendant, and Walker B. Monroe, Claimant-Appellant

United States v. $2,490.00 in U.S. Currency, 2,610,000.00 in Mexican Pesos, & Walker B. Monroe, 825 F.2d 1419 (9th Cir. 1987)
Download
Format
Include

Star paging (*137) is kept for pin cites.

Court
Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit · U.S. Courts of Appeals
Decided
August 27, 1987
Docket
No. 86-6651
Judges
Browning, Alarcon, Thompson
Citations
825 F.2d 14198 Fed. R. Serv. 3d 10611987 U.S. App. LEXIS 11393

Opinion — Per Curiam

PER CURIAM:

The United States filed a complaint for forfeiture under 21 U.S.C. § 881 (1982 & Supp. Ill 1985) against Walter Monroe (Monroe) following his attempt to transport Mexican pesos from the United States to Mexico. The district court subsequently granted the government’s motion for summary judgment from which Monroe timely appeals. We dismiss the appeal for lack of subject matter jurisdiction on the ground that the res—the currency—is no longer within the control of the court because the forfeiture judgment has been executed and the currency is in the United States Treasury.

Because forfeiture proceedings are in rem, the court’s subject matter jurisdiction is dependent on its continuing control over the property.

United States v. 66 Pieces of Jade and Gold Jewelry, 760 F.2d 970, 973 (9th Cir.1985);

United States v. $57,480.05 United States Currency and Other Coins, 722 F.2d 1457, 1458 (9th Cir.1984). The release or removal of the res from the control of the court will terminate jurisdiction, unless the res is released accidentally, fraudulently, or improperly.

United States v. $57,480.05, 722 F.2d at 1458 . Furthermore, once the property is released from the court’s control, the court is powerless to effectuate a remedy because it lacks personal jurisdiction to order the persons holding the property to return it.

66 Pieces of Jade, 760 F.2d at 973 ;

United States v. $57,480.05, 722 F.2d at 1459 . Although not influenced by the filing of a notice of appeal, the court’s control over the res can be protected by a stay of the district court’s judgment pending appeal.

See id.

Here, Monroe filed his notice of appeal on November 14, 1986, eight days after the entry of judgment. He failed, however, to obtain a stay following the expiration of the automatic ten-day stay provided by Rule 62(a).

See Fed.R.Civ.P. 62(a) (“[N]o execution shall issue upon a judgment nor shall proceedings be taken for its enforcement until the expiration of *1421 10 days after its entry.”). Thus, this court’s jurisdiction to hear Monroe’s appeal terminated when the forfeiture judgment was properly executed by depositing the currency into the United States Treasury.

See United States v. Currency in the Amount of $110,000.00, 735 F.2d 326, 327 (9th Cir.1984);

United States v. $57,480.05, 722 F.2d at 1459 .

Nor can Monroe at this late date rely on his right under Fed.R.Civ.P. 62(d) to post a supersedeas bond. Rule 62(d) provides that a claimant may post a bond at or after the filing of a notice of appeal; a stay is effective when the bond is approved. Fed.R.Civ.P. 62(d). The rule, however, does not provide that the release of the res is automatically stayed for the balance of the sixty-day period for filing a notice of appeal. This interpretation would in fact be inconsistent with the ten-day stay provided by Rule 62(a). See United States v. $79,000.00 in United States Currency, 801 F.2d 738 , 739-40 (5th Cir.1986). Therefore, because Monroe failed to post a bond and thus obtain a stay prior to the government’s execution of the forfeiture judgment, his power to do so has dissolved.

The appeal is dismissed for lack of jurisdiction over the res.

DISMISSED.

How later courts describe this case

Explanatory parentheticals written by citing courts — 1 in all; the most informative distinct ones are shown.

Cited by 23 cases

View all citing references →
1988: 31989: 31990: 21991: 61992: 21994: 21996: 11999: 12008: 12009: 219882026peak 1991 · 6

Most recent

  1. The Exxon Valdez v. Exxon Mobil Corp.568 F.3d 1077 (9th Cir. 2009)
  2. Baker v. Exxon Mobile CorpNo. 04-35182 (9th Cir. June 15, 2009)
  3. Suarez v. Mukasey286 F. App'x 966 (9th Cir. 2008)
  4. Ribbens International, S.A. v. Transport International Pool, Inc.40 F. Supp. 2d 1141 (C.D. Cal. 1999)
  5. Moses v. K-Mart Corp.922 F. Supp. 600 (S.D. Fla. 1996)
  6. Prudential Home Mortgage Co. v. Reichart, No. 102692 (Jun. 10, 1994)1994 Conn. Super. Ct. 6489 (1994)

Citing references are not a citator: they show that a later opinion cites this case, not whether it followed, distinguished, or overruled it. Check negative history before relying on this case.

Authorities cited 3

DepthCaseCited by
United States v. $57,480.05 United States Currency & Other Coins & $10,575.00 United States Currency, Vincent Anthony Gulino, 722 F.2d 1457 (9th Cir. 1984) 36
United States v. 66 Pieces of Jade & Gold Jewelry, Warren Clark Anderson, 760 F.2d 970 (9th Cir. 1985) 8
United States v. U.S. Currency in the Amount of $110,000.00, Jo Ann Oberlin, Applicant for Intervention-, 735 F.2d 326 (9th Cir. 1984) 11

Keyboard shortcuts

/Focus the search box
j kNext / previous result
EnterOpen the selected result
xAdd / remove the selected result from the download list
n pNext / previous search term in a case
cCopy the citation of the current case
+ −Larger / smaller reading text
?Show this list