United States of America v. $79,010.00 in United States Currency
Filing
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ORDER denying 34 Claimant's Motion to suppress the disclaimer ; denying as moot 42 Claimant's Motion to suppress the officer's affidavit ; denying as moot 43 Plaintiff's Motion to Strike the motion at (Doc. 42). Signed by Judge David G Campbell on 7/1/11.(DMT)
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IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
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FOR THE DISTRICT OF ARIZONA
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Plaintiff,
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vs.
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$79,010.00 in United States currency, et )
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al.,
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Defendants.
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United States of America,
No. CV10-0244-PHX-DGC
ORDER
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Claimant pro se moves to suppress a disclaimer of ownership (Doc. 34), Plaintiff
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United States opposes (Doc. 41), and Claimant did not file a reply. Claimant also moves to
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suppress the affidavit of an officer included with Plaintiff’s response. Doc. 42. Plaintiff
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moves to strike the latter motion (Doc. 43), and Claimant filed a notice of errata (Doc. 44).
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This is a civil currency forfeiture action where it is alleged Claimant signed a
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disclaimer of ownership. Doc. 1 at 8. Claimant moves to suppress the disclaimer because
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it was given to him “under direct duress and indirect force.” Doc. 34 at 1. Claimant appears
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to argue that because he was handcuffed and detained at the time the disclaimer was given
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to him to sign, this constitutes duress such that the disclaimer is void. Id. at 1-2. Claimant
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suggests that this conclusion is rooted in, and the analysis is governed by, contract law. Id.
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at 1 (moving “to suppress this contract title[d] Disclaimer of Ownership,” and noting that
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“this contract (Disclaimer of Ownership) [is] not valid” (emphasis in original)).
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The disclaimer form attached to Claimant’s motion bears the seal of the Arizona
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Department of Public Safety (Doc. 34 at 5), and Claimant does not allege that the officer
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allegedly creating the duress was a federal officer. Therefore, to the extent Claimant does
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not argue that another source of law applies, the Court will apply Arizona law. Under
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Arizona law, duress in the contractual context is defined as either “any wrongful act of one
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person that compels a manifestation of apparent assent by another to a transaction without
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his volition” or “any wrongful threat of one person by words or other conduct that induces
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another to enter into a transaction under the influence of such fear as precludes him from
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exercising free will and judgment, if the threat was intended or should reasonably have been
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expected to operate as an inducement.” Inter-Tel, Inc. v. Bank of Amer., 985 P.2d 596, 602
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(Ariz. App. 1999) (citing Restatement of Contracts § 492).
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In this case, Claimant has not shown that his detention or handcuffing was a wrongful
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act in the context of the facts alleged by Plaintiff. Moreover, Claimant has not shown that
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lawful handcuffing and detention by a police officer is per se duress under Arizona contract
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law, nor has Claimant shown any wrongful threats or inducement in this case. Therefore, the
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Court finds Claimant’s arguments without merit and will deny the motion to suppress.1
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Because Claimant’s motion to suppress the disclaimer is denied on its face without
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the need to examine the affirmations made by the officer’s affidavit, the motion to suppress
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the officer’s affidavit and the motion to strike will be denied as moot.
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IT IS ORDERED:
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1.
Claimant’s motion to suppress the disclaimer (Doc. 34) is denied.
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Claimant’s motion to suppress the officer’s affidavit (Doc. 42) is denied as
moot.
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The response by Plaintiff United States argues that the disclaimer is not an
involuntary or coerced confession under the federal constitution. Doc. 41 at 9-16. Because
Claimant has made a contractual duress argument, not a constitutional argument, and
Claimant has not filed a reply addressing the constitutional issues, the Court need not pass
judgment on the merits of the government’s constitutional arguments.
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Plaintiff’s motion to strike the motion at Doc. 42 (Doc. 43) is denied as moot.
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DATED this 1st day of July, 2011.
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