Opinion
4:18CV3097
01-14-2019
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Plaintiff, v. 2005 FREIGHTLINER M2106 BOX TRUCK, et al., Defendants.
MEMORANDUM AND ORDER
Magistrate Judge Zwart has issued an Order (Filing No. 77) denying the Claimants' Motion to Unseal Search Warrant Documents (Filing No. 37), including the affidavits supporting those warrants, and granting the government's Motion to Stay (Filing No. 45) the above-captioned civil forfeiture case pending the outcome of the government's related criminal investigation. Claimants HCI Distribution, Inc., and Rock River Manufacturing, Inc., have filed a Statement of Objections (Filing No. 87) to the Magistrate Judge's Order.
After de novo review, the Claimants' Statement of Objections will be denied.
IT IS ORDERED:
1. The Statement of Objections (Filing No. 87) filed by Claimants HCI Distribution, Inc., and Rock River Manufacturing, Inc., to the Magistrate Judge's Order (Filing No. 77) is denied, and the Magistrate Judge's Order is affirmed;
2. The government shall file status reports with the court every 90 days regarding the ongoing criminal investigation. Such reports shall be filed under seal and ex parte, in order to avoid disclosing evidence that may adversely affect the ongoing criminal investigation, consistent with 18 U.S.C. § 981(g)(5). The Clerk of Court shall set a recurring deadline accordingly;
3. The government's Motion to File Response to Claimants' Statement of Objections to Magistrate Order Under Seal (Filing No. 89) is granted; and
4. The government's sealed Response to Claimants' Statement of Objections to Magistrate Order (Filing No. 90) has been considered, and the Clerk of Court shall terminate the Response as a pending motion.
DATED this 14th day of January, 2019.
BY THE COURT:
s/ Richard G. Kopf
Senior United States District Judge