UNITED STATES OF AMERICA v. One Machine Gun/Short Barreled Rifle and Miscellaneous Firearms and Ammunication
Filing
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ORDER GRANTING 46 PLAINTIFF'S MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT. Signed by Judge Edward J. Davila on 9/11/2017. The Clerk shall close this file.(ejdlc2S, COURT STAFF) (Filed on 9/11/2017) (Additional attachment(s) added on 9/11/2017: # 1 Certificate/Proof of Service) (amkS, COURT STAFF).
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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
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NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA
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SAN JOSE DIVISION
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UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
Case No. 5:10-cv-04766-EJD
Plaintiff,
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ORDER GRANTING PLAINTIFF’S
MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT
v.
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ONE MACHINE GUN/SHORT
BARRELED RIFLE AND
MISCELLANEOUS FIREARMS AND
AMMUNICATION,
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United States District Court
Northern District of California
Re: Dkt. No. 46
Defendant.
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In this in rem forfeiture action, the government seeks destruction, forfeiture, and transfer of
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firearms belonging to Steven Vargem. The government moves for summary judgment. Vargem
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(appearing pro se) has not filed an opposition brief. The government’s motion will be GRANTED.
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I.
BACKGROUND
Law enforcement seized approximately thirty firearms from Vargem’s residence in 2010.
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Pl.’s Mot. for Summ. J. (“MSJ”) 2, Dkt. No. 46. Following a bench trial, Vargem was convicted of
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possessing a machine gun (a felony). Id. at 3. Many of the firearms at issue in this action are
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classified as machine guns or assault weapons. Id. at 3–4. None of them are registered. Id.
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II.
LEGAL STANDARD
“Summary judgment is proper where no genuine issue of material fact exists and the
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moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law.” Samuels v. Holland American Line—
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USA Inc., 656 F.3d 948, 952 (9th Cir. 2011) (citing Fed. R. Civ. P. 56(a)). The Court “must draw
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all reasonable inferences in favor of the nonmoving party.” Id. “The central issue is ‘whether the
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Case No.: 5:10-cv-04766-EJD
ORDER GRANTING PLAINTIFF’S MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT
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evidence presents a sufficient disagreement to require submission to a jury or whether it is so one-
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sided that one party must prevail as a matter of law.’” Id. (quoting Anderson v. Liberty Lobby,
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Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 251–52 (1986)). Pro se pleadings and motions should be construed liberally.
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Resnick v. Hayes, 213 F.3d 443, 447 (9th Cir. 2000).
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III.
DISCUSSION
First, the government seeks destruction of ten firearms that are classified as assault
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weapons. MSJ 4–5. Under California law, private citizens may not possess unregistered assault
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weapons. Id. at 5. Here, the ten weapons at issue have been determined to be assault weapons, and
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they are unregistered. Id. As such, the government asks that they be destroyed under the All Writs
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Act, 28 U.S.C. § 1651(a). Id.
United States District Court
Northern District of California
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Second, the government seeks forfeiture of four firearms that are classified as machine
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guns. Id. at 6–9. The government argues that these firearms should be forfeited because (1) the
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firearms qualify as machine guns under the National Firearms Act and (2) Vargem possessed the
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guns and did not register them in the National Firearms Registration and Transfer Record. Id. at 7–
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9.
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Third, the government seeks the transfer of Vargem’s lawfully owned firearms under
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Henderson v. United States, 135 S. Ct. 1780 (2015) (allowing transfer of a felon’s lawfully owned
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firearms from government custody to a third party). MSJ 9–10.
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Vargem has not opposed the government’s summary judgment motion. Instead, he filed a
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motion to dismiss, arguing that this action must be dismissed for lack of standing and jurisdiction.
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Dkt. No. 48. He acknowledges that the U.S. government has standing, but he argues that the
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United States of America is a Delaware corporation with no power to enforce federal law:
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The problem that arises with the case at bar is the plaintiff is:
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA [SIC] a corporate entity twice
registered in the state of Delaware. Congress has conferred legal
standing on the “UNITED STATES” to sue and be sued at 28
U.S.C. § I345 and 1346, respectively: Congress has NOT conferred
comparable legal standing upon the “UNITED STATES OF
AMERICA” to sue, or be sued, as such.
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Case No.: 5:10-cv-04766-EJD
ORDER GRANTING PLAINTIFF’S MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT
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Id. at 6–7. Vargem also argues that laws governing machine guns (26 U.S.C. § 5801 et seq.) are
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unenforceable because the “IRS is a corporate entity registered in Delaware of the corporation
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d.b.a. FEDERAL RESERVE.” Id. at 9.
The Court finds that Vargem’s arguments are frivolous and do not warrant further
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discussion. Other courts have addressed identical arguments and reached the same conclusion.
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See, e.g., United States v. Dawes, 161 F. App’x 742, 746 (10th Cir. 2005) (finding that the same
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arguments are “legally frivolous and do not merit further comment”); U.S. v. Rice, Nos. 2:09-cr-
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00078-JCM, 2:10-cr-00520-JCM, 2012 WL 2995686, at *1 (D. Nev. July 3, 2012) (finding that
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the same arguments are “entirely frivolous and without legal basis”).
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IV.
The government’s motion for summary judgment is GRANTED. The Clerk shall close this
United States District Court
Northern District of California
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CONCLUSION
file.
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IT IS SO ORDERED.
Dated: September 11, 2017
______________________________________
EDWARD J. DAVILA
United States District Judge
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Case No.: 5:10-cv-04766-EJD
ORDER GRANTING PLAINTIFF’S MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT
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