United States of America v. 760 W Kent Pl., Chandler, AZ 85225

Filing 11

ORDER granting 8 Government's "Motion for Leave Second Amended Verified Complaint for Forfeiture in Rem" [sic]. IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that the Government shall file its amended complaint within 14 days from the date of this Order [see attached Order for details]. Signed by Senior Judge James A Teilborg on 9/10/14.(MAW)

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IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

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FOR THE DISTRICT OF ARIZONA

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United States of America,
Plaintiff,

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ORDER

v.

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No. CV-14-00817-PHX-JAT

760 W Kent Pl., Chandler, AZ 85225, et al.,

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Defendants.

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Pending before the Court is Plaintiff’s “Motion for Leave Second Amended

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Verified Complaint for Forfeiture in Rem” [sic] (Doc. 8). The Court now rules on the

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motion.

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I.

Background

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The Government filed this civil forfeiture action in rem pursuant to 18 U.S.C. §

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981 to forfeit to its possession certain real property titled in the name of Claimant

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Elseddig Musa. (Doc. 1). Six days after the Government filed its initial complaint, it

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amended its complaint as a matter of course. (Doc. 4). Claimant subsequently filed a

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claim to the property that is the subject of this action, (Doc. 6), and answered the First

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Amended Complaint, (Doc. 7).

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The Government now seeks leave to amend its complaint to add as defendants five

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sums of money seized from bank accounts titled in the name of Claimant or Claimant’s

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entity (the “Accounts”). (Doc. 8 at 2). The Government asserts that the Accounts are

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forfeitable based upon the same statutes and facts alleged in the original complaint. (Id.)

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II.

Legal Standard

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Federal Rule of Civil Procedure (“Rule”) 15 provides, in relevant part, that “a

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party may amend its pleading only with the opposing party’s written consent or the

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court’s leave. The court should freely give leave when justice so requires.” Fed. R. Civ.

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P. 15(a)(B). The decision whether to grant leave to amend lies “within the sound

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discretion of the trial court.” DCD Programs, Ltd. v. Leighton, 833 F.2d 183, 185 (9th

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Cir. 1987) (quoting United States v. Webb, 655 F.2d 977, 979 (9th Cir. 1981)).

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Furthermore, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has decreed that district courts should

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grant leave to amend “with extreme liberality.” Morongo Band of Mission Indians v.

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Rose, 893 F.2d 1074, 1079 (9th Cir. 1990). This comports with the purpose of Rule 15 in

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“facilitat[ing] decision on the merits rather than on the pleadings or technicalities.” DCD

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Programs, 833 F.2d at 186.

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In determining whether to grant a motion for leave to amend, a court should

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consider four factors: “bad faith, undue delay, prejudice to the opposing party, and[]

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futility.” Griggs v. Pace Am. Grp., Inc., 170 F.3d 877, 880 (9th Cir. 1999). “Generally,

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this determination should be performed with all inferences in favor of granting the

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motion.” Id. “The party opposing the amendment bears the burden of showing why the

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amendment should not be granted.” ABM Indus., Inc. v. Zurich Am. Ins. Co., 237 F.R.D.

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225, 227 (N.D. Cal. 2006); see also DCD Programs, 733 F.2d at 188; Richardson v.

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United States, 841 F.2d 993, 999 (9th Cir. 1988).

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III.

Analysis

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Claimant’s sole argument in opposition to amendment is that the Government was

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aware of the existence of the Accounts “from the beginning” and because the

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Government had the opportunity to name the Accounts in both the initial complaint and

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the First Amended Complaint but failed to do so, it should not be permitted to now add

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them to this action. (Doc. 9 at 2). Claimant asserts that the Government first attempted to

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forfeit the Accounts via administrative forfeiture but Claimant filed an objection to this

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process. (Id.) Claimant implies that it is unjust for the Government, “over four months

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later,” to attempt to forfeit the Accounts via judicial forfeiture. (Id.)

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Claimant fails, however, to point to any legal authority that bars the Government

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from properly naming the Accounts as the defendant in a civil forfeiture action.

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Moreover, the Government asserts that if leave to amend is denied, it will file a separate

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civil forfeiture action naming the Accounts as defendants pursuant to its right to do so

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under 18 U.S.C. § 983(a)(3). (Doc. 10 at 2). Claimant’s scant arguments concerning

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undue delay and prejudice do not show why the Court should deny leave to amend.

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IV.

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Conclusion
For the foregoing reasons,
IT IS ORDERED granting the Government’s “Motion for Leave Second

Amended Verified Complaint for Forfeiture in Rem” [sic] (Doc. 8).
IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that the Government shall file its amended

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complaint within 14 days from the date of this Order.

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Dated this 10th day of September, 2014.

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