Petition for Writ of Certiorari — Madhu Sameer, Petitioner v. The Right Move 4 U, et al.

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Appendix A

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Case: 18-16046, 03/24/2020,

Case l:17-cv-00886-AWI-EPG Document 110 Filed 03/24

UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS

FOR THE NINTH CIRCUIT

FILED

MAR 24 2020

MOLLY C. DWYER, CLERK

U.S. COURT OF APPEALS

No.

MADHU SAMEER,

18-16046

D.C.No. 1:17-cv-00886-AWI-EPG

Eastern District of California,

Fresno

Plaintiff-Appellant,

ORDER

THE RIGHT MOVE 4 U; et al.,

Defendants-Appellees.

Before: WALLACE, CANBY, and TASHIMA, Circuit Judges.

The panel has voted to deny the petition for panel rehearing.

The full court has been advised of the petition for rehearing en banc and no

judge has requested a vote on whether to rehear the matter en banc. See Fed. R.

App. P. 35.

Sameer’s petition for panel rehearing and petition for rehearing en banc

(Docket Entry No. 81) are denied.

Sameer’s motion to recall the mandate (Docket Entry No. 82) is denied.

No further filings will be entertained in this closed case.

0044

Appendix B

. 0045

NOT FOR PUBLICATION

UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS

FOR THE NINTH CIRCUIT

No.

MADHU SAMEER,

FILED

DEC 13 2019

MOLLY C. DWYER, CLERK

U.S. COURT OF APPEALS

18-16046

D.C.No. 1:17-cv-00886-AWI-EPG

Plaintiff-Appellant,

MEMORANDUM*

THE RIGHT MOVE 4 U; et al.

Defendants-Appellees.

Appeal from the United States District Court

for the Eastern District of California

Anthony W. Ishii, District Judge, Presiding

Submitted December 11, 2019**

Before:

WALLACE, CANBY, and TASHIMA, Circuit Judges.

Madhu Sameer appeals pro se from the district court’s judgment dismissing

her action alleging federal and state law claims. We have jurisdiction under 28

U.S.C. § 1291. We review for an abuse of discretion a dismissal under Fed. R.

Civ. P. 41(b). McHenry v. Renne, 84 F.3d 1172, 1177 (9th Cir. 1996). We affirm.

This disposition is not appropriate for publication and is not precedent

except as provided by Ninth Circuit Rule 36-3.

The panel unanimously concludes this case is suitable for decision

without oral argument. See Fed. R. App. P. 34(a)(2).

0046

The district court did not abuse its discretion by dismissing Sameer’s action

for failure to comply with its order to amend the complaint to comply with Federal

Rule of Civil Procedure 8(a). Despite the district court’s warning and instruction,

Sameer’s third amended complaint was vague, confusing, and failed to allege

clearly the bases for her claims. See id. at 1179-80 (affirming dismissal of a

complaint under Rule 8 because it was “argumentative, prolix, replete with

redundancy, and largely irrelevant”); see also Fed. R. Civ. P. 8(a)(2) (requiring that

a pleading contain “a short and plain statement of the claim showing that the

pleader is entitled to relief’).

The district court did not abuse its discretion by denying Sameer’s motion to

proceed in forma pauperis because the court’s determination was based on its

*■»

examination of her affidavit in support of her motion and her financial resources.

See O’Loughlin v. Doe, 920 F.2d 614, 617 (9th Cir. 1990) (setting forth standard of

review and explaining that a “reviewing court cannot reverse unless it has a

definite and firm conviction that the court below committed a clear error of

judgment”).

We do not consider matters not specifically and distinctly raised and argued

in the opening brief, or arguments and allegations raised for the first time on

appeal. See Padgett v. Wright, 587 F.3d 983, 985 n.2 (9th Cir. 2009).

0047

18-16046

Sameer’s motions requesting this court to take judicial notice of the

documents she attaches (Docket Entry Nos. 24 and 68) are denied because the

documents are irrelevant to the issues on appeal. The Clerk is directed to strike the

documents. Her motions requesting to file those documents under seal (Docket

Entry Nos. 23 and 68) are denied as moot.

AFFIRMED.

0048

18-16046

Appendix C

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Case l:17-cv-00886-AWI-EPG Document 94 Filed 05/22/18 Page 1 of 9

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

CASE NO. l:17-CV-886 AWI-EPG

MAHDU SAMEER,

ORDER DISMISSING PLAINTIFF’S

THIRD AMENDED COMPLAINT

FOR FAILURE TO FOLLOW

A PREVIOUS COURT ORDER

Plaintiff'

RIGHT MOVES 4 U; MICHELLE

FRANKLIN; DYLAN CORTINA;

XO MOVING SYSTEMS; CONROY

REMOVALS; FIONA CONROY;

MONICA MCKINLEY; TALBOT

UNDERWRITING RISK SERVICES;

SHIPCO TRANSPORT; and DOES 1-43,

(Doc. No. 93)

Defendants

This dispute arises from the Defendants’ alleged failure to deliver Plaintiff s’personal

possessions from her former residence in Fresno, CA to her current residence in New Zealand.

Plaintiffs 110-page Second Amended Complaint (“2 AC”) sought to allege multiple claims under

the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act” (“RICO”), as well as multiple California

state law claims. See Doc. No. 13. In the Court’s Order on Plaintiffs Motions (the “Dismissal

Order,” Doc. No. 87), Plaintiffs 2AC was dismissed for failure to provide a “short and plain

statement” under Rule 8 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. Plaintiff, a pro se litigant, was ■

granted leave to amend in order to cure the Rule 8 defects, address other violations of the Court’s

Local Rules, and fit her complaint into the Court-imposed page limit of 50 pages. Id.

Plaintiff has filed her Third Amended Complaint (“3 AC”), which also substantially fails to

proffer a “short and plain statement” of her claims. See Doc. No 93. For the reasons that follow,

Plaintiff s 3 AC will be dismissed with prejudice.

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Case l:17-cv-00886-AWI-EPG Document 94 Filed 05/22/18 Page 2 of 9

A. Failure to Provide a Short and Plain Statement

Lesal Standard

Under Rule 8(a), a complaint must contain a “short and plain statement of the claim

showing that the pleader is entitled to relief.” Fed. R. Civ. P. 8(a)(2). “[T]he ‘short and plain

statement’ must provide each defendant with ‘fair notice of what the plaintiffs claim is and the

grounds upon which it rests.’” Dura Pharms., Inc. v. Broudo, 544 U.S. 336, 346 (2005). Rule

8(a) “requires a ‘showing,’ rather than a blanket assertion, of entitlement to relief.” Bell Atl. Corp.

v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544 (2007). Plaintiffs complaint must contain facts to “state a claim to

relief that is plausible on its face,” allowing “the court to draw the reasonable inference that the

defendant is liable for the misconduct alleged.” Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 556 U.S. 662, 678 (2009).

Complaints that are “argumentative, prolix, replete with redundancy, and largely

irrelevant” and that consist “largely of immaterial background information” are subject to

dismissal under Rule 8. Cafasso, U.S. ex rel. v. Gen. Dynamics C4 Sys., Inc., 637 F.3d 1047, 1059

(9th Cir. 2011). A Rule 8 dismissal is allowed even if “a few possible claims” can be identified

and even if the complaint is not “wholly without merit.” Id. at 1179 (stating Rule 8's requirements 3.

apply “to good claims as well as bad”). Complaints that fail to comply with Rule 8 “impose unfair

burdens on litigants and judges” who “cannot use [such] complaint[s]” and “must prepare outlines

to determine who is being sued for what.” Id. at 1179-80. “Experience teaches that, unless cases

are pled clearly and precisely, issues are not joined, discovery is not controlled, the trial court's

docket becomes unmanageable, the litigants suffer, and society loses confidence in the court's

• 21

ability to administer justice.” Bautista v. L.A. Cty., 216 F.3d 837, 841 (9th Cir. 2000).

Analysis

The core of the Court’s Dismissal Order concerned Plaintiffs failure to proffer a short and

plain statement of her RICO allegations in her 2AC. See Doc. No. 87. Therein, the Court

informed Plaintiff that in a RICO action, a plaintiff must allege the following: “(1) conduct (2) of

an enterprise (3) through a pattern (4) of racketeering activity (known as predicate acts) (5)

causing injury to plaintiffs business or property.” Just Film, Inc. v. Buono, 847 F.3d 1108, 1116

(9th Cir. 2017); 18 U.S.C. § 1962. An “enterprise” includes “any individual, partnership,

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Case l:17-cv-00886-AWI-EPG Document 94 Filed 05/22/18 Page 3 of 9

corporation, association, or other legal entity, and any union or group of individuals associated in

fact although not a legal entity.” 18 U.S.C. § 1961(4). A “pattern” requires the commission of at

least two acts of “racketeering activity” within a ten-year period. 18 U.S.C. § 1961(5).

Racketeering activities are also known as “predicate acts” under 18 U.S.C. § 1961. Eller v.

EquiTrust Life Ins. Co., 778 F.3d 1089, 1092 (9th Cir. 2015); see also United States v. Turkette,

452 U.S. 576, 582 (1981) (“The enterprise is an entity[.] The pattern of racketeering activity is, on

the other hand, a series of criminal acts as defined by the statute.”).

Applying Rule 8, the Court found Plaintiffs 2AC to be neither short nor plain:

The 110-page 2 AC contains 32 causes of action, as read from the section headers.

24 of these main headings allege RICO violations, many of which are lodged

against “all Defendants,” and most of which contain multiple subsections

apparently alleging additional RICO claims.

Plaintiff does list nine predicate acts under federal law, in a section preceding her

“causes of action,” but then fails to mention these in most of her 22 RICO causes

of action, instead citing back to, inter alia, the general RICO statute, other federal

laws (sometimes completely irrelevant to her cause of action), California state law

and various Restatements of the Law. Many of Plaintiff s claims appear

duplicative, and though Plaintiff includes almost 300 paragraphs of factual

allegations, it is near impossible to connect these facts to the elements of

Plaintiffs claims.

The remaining eight “causes of action” appear to be styled as alleged violations of

California common law: breach of contract, breach of duty of care, breach of

fiduciary duty/conspiracy, equitable/promissory estoppel, unjust enrichment,

negligent misrepresentation, intentional misrepresentation, and “unfair

competition.” Many of these sections, however, also have multiple sub-claims,

each of which cites to various sources of law seemingly unrelated to the

designated claim—some cite to the Restatements, some to wholly irrelevant

statutes (i.e. 29 U.S.C. 1109, governing fiduciary duties for employee benefits).

Many cite back to the RICO statute, leaving the Court with the impression that

Plaintiff is attempting to use California common law as a predicate offenses for

additional RICO claims.

See Doc. No. 87, pp. 5-6. The Court concluded that “the 2AC's incomprehensibility prevents this

Court (and Defendants) from deciphering the factual and legal basis for each Defendant's alleged

liability[;]” the Court granted Plaintiff leave to amend. See Id. p.6.

Plaintiffs 3AC, while slightly reformed, still fails to comply with Rule 8 at its most basic

level. The 3 AC contains seven “counts”, where Plaintiff divides the Defendants into individual

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Case l:17-cv-00886-AWI-EPG Document 94 Filed 05/22/18 Page 4 of 9

entities or smaller sub-groups—the Court assumes this is Plaintiffs attempt to individualize her

allegations in the “counts” section to each Defendant, instead of alleging claims against “all

Defendants” (as was the case in the 2AC). See Doc. No. 93, at pp. 42-48. However, each “count”

then incorporates by reference and refers back to the body of the 3 AC, where Plaintiff sets forth no

less than twenty-four sub-sections of what appear to be attempts to detail predicate acts. See Id.

These sections are so multifarious as to still remain incomprehensible; two such examples are

styled as follows:

Intentional - Breach of Contract/Breach of Third Party Contract/Breach of

Fiduciary Duty/Tortious Interference-in aid of Racketeering enterprises (18

USC 1962 (c); (d); 18USC 1341; 18USC 1343; 18USC 1346; 18USC

1349); Restatements (Second) of Contracts (1981) Sec. 241 et. seq.;

Restatement (Second) of Torts-Sec. 874, 875, 876, 766; Restatement (Third)

of Agency (2006) sec. 6.05; 7.01, et. seq., 801, et. seq.

Deprivation of Civil Rights (18 USC 1962 (d); 18 USC 1341; 18 USC 1343;

18 USC 1346; 18 USC 1349; Federal Constitutional law, Article 1 Section

10; Bill of Rights - First, Fifth, and Fourteenth Amendment); 42 USC 1981;

42 USC 1982; 42 USC 1985 (3); 42 USC 1986; 42 USC 1988 (a)-(c ).

‘i

See Id. Each of these sub-sections contains a few paragraphs of factual allegations (and some

seemingly-conclusory statements) about “defendants’” behavior, but do not appear to come close

to matching up with the breadth of the multiple citations to law contained in each sub-section.

Like the Court held in its Dismissal Order concerning the 2AC, “courts should not have to outline

a plaintiffs complaint in order to find comprehensibility.” Cafasso, 631 F.3d at 1079-80.

Additionally, Plaintiff many other paragraphs appear to be restyled versions of Plaintiff s

previous attempts to allege violations of California state law. See 3AC, at pp 23-21. The Court

still cannot gauge how Plaintiff intends to incorporate by reference these sections, either as RICO

or state law acts. For example, the following headers are denoted as “Non Predicate Acts”:

Intentional Infliction of Emotional Distress (18 USC 1962 (d); 18 USC 1341;

18 USC 1343; 18 USC 1346; 18 USC 1349; Restatement (Second) of Torts,

Sec 46;

Unjust Enrichment 18 USC 1962(c), (d); 18 USC 1341;. 18 USC 1343; 18

USC 1346; 18 USC 1349; Restatement (Third) of Restitution & Unjust

Enrichment, Restatement (Third) of Agency, Sec 2.047, 4.08, 5.04.

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Case l:17-cv-00886-AWI-EPG Document 94 Filed 05/22/18 Page 5 of 9

See Id. These sections, scattered throughout the 3AC, are again followed by allegations that do

not appear to conform to the legal citations in the headers, either under Federal or State law. Like

the so-called “Predicate Acts”, these numerous paragraphs also fail provide any of the Defendants,

with fair notice of what Plaintiffs claims are and the grounds upon which each claim rests. Dura

Pharms., 544 U.S. at 346; Cafasso, 637 F.3d at 1059 (“Complaints that are argumentative, prolix,

replete with redundancy, and largely irrelevant” and that consist “largely of immaterial

background information” are subject to dismissal under Rule 8.).

Finally, the Court cannot decipher the factual basis for Plaintiffs damages estimation,

alleged to be over the implausible figure of $3 million, and questions her seemingly conclusory

allegations of enterprise and that unnamed “others” have experienced the same harms from these

Defendants. See Twombly, 550 U.S. at 555; Iqbal, 556 U.S. at 678, Chaset v. Fleer/Skybox, 300

F.3d 1083, 1087 (9th Cir. 2002) (“Congress enacted RICO to combat organized crime, not to

provide a federal cause of action and treble damages for personal injuries.”).

The Court’s conclusion regarding Plaintiffs 3AC is the same as with 2AC: its prolixity

and incomprehensibility prevents the Court (and Defendants) from deciphering the factual and •

legal basis for each Defendant's alleged liability. See Cafasso, 637 F.3d at 1059 (“Rule 8(a) has

‘been held to be violated by a pleading that is needlessly long, or a complaint that was highly

repetitious, or confused, or consisted of incomprehensible rambling.’”) (quoting 5 Federal Practice

& Procedure § 1217 (3d ed. 2010)); see also Clayburn v. Schirmer, 2008 WL 564958, at *4 (E.D.

Cal. Feb. 28, 2008) (“The court and any defendant should be able to read and understand

Plaintiffs pleading within minutes.”); Little v. Baca, 2013 WL 436018, at *3 (C.D. Cal. Feb. 1,

2013) (finding that unclear pleadings “leav[e] it to the Court to figure out what the full array of

[the plaintiffs] claims are and upon what federal law, and upon what facts, each claim is based.”).

Hence, the 3 AC must be dismissed. See Cafasso, 637 F.3d at 1059 (dismissing the “overly

burdensome” amended complaint per Rule 8); Stone v. Baum, 409 F.Supp.2d 1164, 1173 (D. Az.

Dec. 20, 2005) (dismissing under Rule 8 where 64-page complaint made no attempt to link alleged

violations of numerous predicate acts to defendants, and pleaded in conclusory and vague fashion

so that court and defendants could not discern conduct in question).

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Case l:17-cv-00886-AWI-EPG Document 94 Filed 05/22/18 Page 6 of 9

B. Dismissal with Prejudice is Appropriate under Rule 41

Lesal Standard

A complaint which fails to comply with a court order may be dismissed with prejudice as a

sanction. See Rule 41(b). “Although that rule appears to contemplate that dismissal will be

precipitated by a motion from the opposing party, a court may act sua sponte under Rule 41(b).”

Forte v. County of Merced, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 133826, *31, 2014 WL 4745923 (citing Link v.

Wabash R. Co., 370 U.S. 626, 630 (1962). The Ninth Circuit has upheld such dismissals pursuant

to a district court’s order for a plaintiff to follow Rule 8(a). McHenry v. Renne, 84 F.3d 1172 (9th

Cir. 1996); Nevijel v. N. Coast Life Ins. Co., 651 F.2d 671, 673 (9th Cir. 4981); see also Knapp v.

Hogan, 738 F.3d 1106, 1111 (9th Cir.-2013) ("Complaints that are filed in repeated and knowing

violation of Federal Rule 8's pleading requirements are a great drain on the court system, and the

reviewing court cannot be expected to fish a gold coin from a bucket of mud."); Johnson v. t

KHS&S Contractor, 2011 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 65215, at *2 (E.D. Cal. Jun 20, 2011) ("[A] district.*,

court may impose sanctions, including involuntary dismissal of a plaintiffs case with prejudice ,-

pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 41(b), where that plaintiff fails to prosecute his or her

case or fails to comply with the court's orders.") (collecting cases)).

■M*-’

In considering whether to dismiss a case under Rule 41(b), courts consider: (1) the public's

interest in expeditious resolution of litigation; (2) the court's need to manage its docket; (3) the i*

risk of prejudice to the defendants; (4) the public policy favoring disposition of cases on their ?

merits; and (5) the availability of less drastic alternatives. See Yourish v. California Amplifier, 191

F.3d 983, 990 (9th Cir. 1999); Ferdikv. Bonzelet, 963 F.2d 1258, 1260-61 (9th Cir. 1992).

Analysis

Considering the above factors, only the fourth counsels against dismissal of this case with

prejudice, and this factor is drastically outweighed by the remaining factors. In the time since

Plaintiff filed her first complaint, she has amended three times to date, and until the Courts

admonition in the Dismissal Order, continued to inordinately expand her claims both in scope and

litigants. Plaintiff twice served the wrong party, despite the apparent clear instructions for service

listed on her insurance certificate, causing these former parties to file motions to dismiss. Plaintiff

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Case l:17-cv-00886-AWI-EPG

Document 94 Filed 05/22/18 Page 7 of 9

has also filed numerous motions that border on frivolity—some of which were over 500 pages in

length and one of which seemingly requested the Court enjoin the order of a New Zealand court.

In short, Plaintiffs acts in pursuing her case cut against the public’s interest in expeditious

resolution of the case, the court’s ability to manage its docket, and the risk of prejudice to the

defendants. Ferdik, 963 F.2d at 1260-61.

Despite these ongoing problems, however, the Court granted Plaintiff s motion to amend -

her complaint. See Doc. No. 87. The Court expressly stated that upon filing her 3AC, Plaintiff >

“must comply with the Rules of Civil Procedure, most importantly Rule 8(a)’s requirement of a

‘short and plain’ statement of the claim and the facts showing that Plaintiff is entitled to relief.”

See Id., p. 8. The Court warned that “[ujnless Plaintiff is able to clarify her allegations in the

[3AC], this would demonstrate to the Court the futility of additional future amendment, and go

towards a showing of prejudice to defendants and interference with judicial process.” Id. The

Court concluded by stating: “[fjailure to comply with these commands may result in additional

sanctions, including sua sponte dismissal of the action without further comment or, potentially,

dismissal of the action with prejudice.” Id. Despite the Court admonishing Plaintiff on Rule 8

admonition, as well as providing her with guidance on the pleading standards for a RICO claim,

she has failed to proffer a “short and plain statement” in her 3 AC. The current complaint is

verbose and confusing, irrelevant in parts, argumentative, prolix, replete with redundancy. See

Section A, supra. In the Dismissal Order, the Court also ordered Plaintiff to adhere to the Court’s

Local Rules concerning formatting (L.R. 130), and imposed a page limit to further indicate the .

need for a “short and plain statement.” While Plaintiff did decrease her page count, she did so

partially at the expense of the page margins and spacing (in part). See Local Rule 130(a), (b), and

(c). By the Court’s estimate, Plaintiffs 3AC significantly extends beyond the page limit imposed

once forced to conform to the Court’s formatting rules. At best, this violation further highlights

■ 25

Plaintiffs failure to proffer a “short and plain statement” of her claims. These findings lead the

Court to conclude that Plaintiff will be unable to meet Rule 8’s pleading standards, and no less *

drastic alternative is available.

1 28

III

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Case l:17-cv-00886-AWI-EPG Document 94 Filed 05/22/18 Page 8 of 9

Plaintiff has previously expressed her concern that, as a pro se litigant, she is unaware of

how to properly plead a complaint. However, the Court notes Plaintiff originally filed this action

in July of 2017, has amended three times, and has had numerous procedural issues throughout,

including service of incorrect parties. In short, if Plaintiff intended to procure the services of an

attorney to correct for her apparent inability to conform to the Federal Rules, she could have done

so by now. Plaintiffs pro se status does not excuse her from conforming her pleadings and

motions to the Rules of Civil Procedure and the Court’s Local Rules. See Briones v. Riviera Hotel

& Casino, 116 F.3d 379, 381 (9th Cir. 1997) (Although the court must construe pleadings

liberally, “[p]ro se litigants must follow the same rules of procedure that govern other litigants.”);

see also Local Rule 183(a) ("Any individual representing himself or herself without an attorney is

bound by the Federal Rules of Civil or Criminal Procedure, these Rules, and all other applicable

law. Failure to comply therewith may be ground for dismissal... or any other sanction

appropriate under these Rules.").

Thus, it is clear that Plaintiffs inability to conform to the tenets of Rule 8 and the-Court’s

order, as previously discussed, counsels dismissal of her case with prejudice. Cf. McHenry v.

Renne, 84 F.3d 1172 (9th Cir. 1996) (affirming district court’s dismissal with prejudice under Rule

41(b) due to plaintiffs violation of general pleading rules and court's prior orders requiring short,

clear statement of claims sufficient to allow defendants to prepare responsive pleading,^vyhere 53-

page third amended complaint was written more as a press release and failed to obey court's prior

orders to identify .which defendants were liable on which claims); Nevijel v. N. Coast Life Ins. Co.,

651 F.2d 671, 673 (9th Cir. 1981) (affirming a Rule 41(b) dismissal of a “verbose, confusing, and

almost entirely conclusory” complaint, after previously allowing amendment, because there was

little reason to think that an additional opportunity would yield different results); with Hearns v.

San Bernadino Police Department, 530 F.3d 1124 (9th Cir. 2011) (reversing sua sponte dismissal

under Rule 41(b) where complaint was not “replete with redundancy and largely irrelevant.”

(citing to McHenry, 84 F.3d at 1132)) see also Bryant v. City of Tulare, 2017 U.S. Dist. LEXIS

23174, *10 (E.D. Cal. Feb 7, 2017) (dismissing a multifarious RICO complaint with prejudice

where the complaint referenced predicate acts such as “wire fraud” or “mail fraud”, but failed to

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■ M*:

’

Case l:17-cv-00886-AWf-EPG Document 94 Filed 05/22/18 Page 9 of 9

clearly establish these predicates in her facts, failed to adequately allege an enterprise, and made

conclusory allegations as to damages); Wright v. United States, 2015 WL 3902798, at *1 (N.D.

Cal. June 24, 2015) (dismissing sua sponte after the plaintiff failed to assuage the court’s concerns

regarding the complaint’s failure to follow Rule 8); KHS&S Contractor, 2011 U.S. Dist. LEXIS

65215, at *2.

ORDER

Accordingly, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that:

PREJUDICE;

Plaintiffs Third Amended Complaint (Doc. No. 93) is DISMISSED WITH

The Clerk of the Court is directed to CLOSE this case.

IT IS SO ORDERED.

Dated:

May 22, 2018

**< ±NIOR DISTRICT JUDGE

17'

•

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Case l:17-cv-00886-AWI-EPG Document 95 Filed 05/22/18 Page 1 of 1

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

JUDGMENT IN A CIVIL CASE

MADHU SAMEER,

CASE NO: l:17-CV-00886-AWI-EPG

THE RIGHT MOVE 4 U, ET AL.,

•i.

XX — Decision by the Court. This action came to trial or hearing before the Court. The issues

have been tried or heard and a decision has been rendered.

IT IS ORDERED AND ADJUDGED

THAT JUDGMENT IS HEREBY ENTERED IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE

COURT'S ORDER FILED ON 5/22/2018

Marianne Matherly

Clerk of Court

ENTERED: May 22, 2018

hv: /s/ A. lessen

Deputy Clerk

0059

APPENDIX D : STATUTORY LAWS

0060

ANTITRUST LAWS

15 U.S. Code § l.Trusts, etc., in restraint of trade illegal; penalty

Every contract, combination in the form of trust or otherwise, or conspiracy, in restraint of

trade or commerce among the several States, or with foreign nations, is declared to be

illegal. Every person who shall make any contract or engage in any combination or

conspiracy hereby declared to be illegal shall be deemed guilty of a felony, and, on

conviction thereof, shall be punished by fine not exceeding $100,000,000 if a corporation,

or, if any other person, $1,000,000, or by imprisonment not exceeding 10 years, or by both

said punishments, in the discretion of the court.

15 U.S. Code § 2.Monopolizing trade a felony; penalty

Every person who shall monopolize, or attempt to monopolize, or combine or conspire with

any other person or persons, to monopolize any part of the trade or commerce among the

several States, or with foreign nations, shall be deemed guilty of a felony, and, on

conviction thereof, shall be punished by fine not exceeding $100,000,000 if a corporation,

or, if any other person, $1,000,000, or by imprisonment not exceeding 10 years, or by both

said punishments, in the discretion of the court.

15 U.S. Code § 3.Trusts in Territories or District of Columbia illegal; combination a felony

(a) Every contract, combination in form of trust or otherwise, or conspiracy, in restraint of

trade or commerce in any Territory of the United States or of the District of Columbia, or in

restraint of trade or commerce between any such Territory and another, or between any such

Territory or Territories and any State or States or the District of Columbia, or with foreign

nations, or between the District of Columbia and any State or States or foreign nations, is

declared illegal. Every person who shall make any such contract or engage in any such

combination or conspiracy, shall be deemed guilty of a felony, and, on conviction thereof,

shall be punished by fine not exceeding $100,000,000 if a corporation, or, if any

other person, $1,000,000, or by imprisonment not exceeding 10 years, or by both said

punishments, in the discretion of the court.

(b) Every person who shall monopolize, or attempt to monopolize, or combine or conspire

with any other person or persons, to monopolize any part of the trade or commerce in any

Territory of the United States or of the District of Columbia, or between any such Territory

and another, or between any such Territory or Territories and any State or States or the

District of Columbia, or with foreign nations, or between the District of Columbia, and

any State or States or foreign nations, shall be deemed guilty of a felony, and, on conviction

thereof, shall be punished by fine not exceeding $100,000,000 if a corporation, or, if any

other person, $ 1,000,000, or by imprisonment not exceeding 10 years, or by both said

punishments, in the discretion of the court

15 U.S. Code § 6a.Conduct involving trade or commerce with foreign nations

Sections l to 7 of this title shall not apply to conduct involving trade or commerce (other

than import trade or import commerce) with foreign nations unless—

(l)such conduct has a direct, substantial, and reasonably foreseeable effect—

(A)

0061

on trade or commerce which is not trade or commerce with foreign nations, or on import

trade or import commerce with foreign nations; or

(B) on export trade or export commerce with foreign nations, of a person engaged in such

trade or commerce in the United States; and

(2) such effect gives rise to a claim under the provisions of sections i to 7 of this title, other

than this section.

If sections 1 to 7 of this title apply to such conduct only because of the operation of

paragraph (1)(B), then sections l to 7 of this title shall apply to such conduct only for injury

to export business in the United States.

15 U.S. Code § 7."Person" or "persons" defined

The word “person”, or “persons”, wherever used in sections 1 to 7 of this title shall be

deemed to include corporations and associations existing under or authorized by the laws of

either the United States, the laws of any of the Territories, the laws of any State, or the laws

of any foreign country.

15 USC 12. Definitions; short title

(a) "Antitrust laws," as used herein, includes the Act entitled "An Act to protect trade and

commerce against unlawful restraints and monopolies," approved July second, eighteen

hundred and ninety; sections seventy-three to seventy-six, inclusive, of an Act entitled "An

Act to reduce taxation, to provide revenue for the Government, and for other purposes," of

August twenty-seventh, eighteen hundred and ninety-four; an Act entitled "An Act to

amend sections seventy-three and seventy-six of the Act of August twenty-seventh,

eighteen hundred and ninety-four, entitled An Act to reduce taxation, to provide revenue

for the Government, and for other purposes,' " approved February twelfth, nineteen hundred

and thirteen; and also this Act.

"Commerce," as used herein, means trade or commerce among the several States and with

foreign nations, or between the District of Columbia or any Territory of the United States

and any State, Territory, or foreign nation, or between any insular possessions or other

places under the jurisdiction of the United States, or between any such possession or place

and any State or Territory of the United States or the District of Columbia or any foreign

nation, or within the District of Columbia or any Territory or any insular possession or other

place under the jurisdiction of the United States: Provided, That nothing in this Act

contained shall apply to the Philippine Islands.

The word "person" or "persons" wherever used in this Act shall be deemed to include

corporations and associations existing under or authorized by the laws of either the United

States, the laws of any of the Territories, the laws of any State, or the laws of any foreign

country.

(b) This Act may be cited as the "Clayton Act".

CLAYTON ACT

15 USC 13. Discrimination in price, services, or facilities

(a) Price; selection of customers

•

It shall be unlawful for any person engaged in commerce, in the course of such commerce,

either directly or indirectly, to discriminate in price between different purchasers of

commodities of like grade and quality, where either or any of the purchases involved in

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such discrimination are in commerce, where such commodities are sold for use,

consumption, or resale within the United States or any Territory thereof or the District of

Columbia or any insular possession or other place under the jurisdiction of the United

States, and where the effect of such discrimination may be substantially to lessen

competition or tend to create a monopoly in any line of commerce, or to injure, destroy, or

prevent competition with any person who either grants or knowingly receives the benefit of

such discrimination, or with customers of either of them: Provided, That nothing herein

contained shall prevent differentials which make only due allowance for differences in the

cost of manufacture, sale, or delivery resulting from the differing methods or quantities in

which such commodities are to such purchasers sold or delivered: Provided, however, That

the Federal Trade Commission may, after due investigation and hearing to all interested

parties, fix and establish quantity limits, and revise the same as it finds necessary, as to

particular commodities or classes of commodities, where it finds that available purchasers

in greater quantities are so few as to render differentials on account thereof unjustly

discriminatory or promotive of monopoly in any line of commerce; and the foregoing shall

then not be construed to permit differentials based on differences in quantities greater than

those so fixed and established: And provided further, That nothing herein contained shall

prevent persons engaged in selling goods, wares, or merchandise in commerce from

selecting their own customers in bona fide transactions and not in restraint of trade: And

provided further, That nothing herein contained shall prevent price changes from time to

time where in response to changing conditions affecting the market for or the marketability

of the goods concerned, such as but not limited to actual or imminent deterioration of

perishable goods, obsolescence of seasonal goods, distress sales under court process, or

sales in good faith in discontinuance of business in the goods concerned.

(b) Burden of rebutting prima-facie case of discrimination

Upon proof being made, at any hearing on a complaint under this section, that there has

been discrimination in price or services or facilities furnished, the burden of rebutting the

prima-facie case thus made by showing justification shall be upon the person charged with a

violation of this section, and unless justification shall be affirmatively shown, the

Commission is authorized to issue an order terminating the discrimination: Provided,

however, That nothing herein contained shall prevent a seller rebutting the prima-facie case

thus made by showing that his lower price or the furnishing of services or facilities to any

purchaser or purchasers was made in good faith to meet an equally low price of a

competitor, or the services or facilities furnished by a competitor.

It shall be unlawful for any person engaged in commerce, in the course of such commerce,

to pay or grant, or to receive or accept, anything of value as a commission, brokerage, or

other compensation, or any allowance or discount in lieu thereof, except for services

rendered in connection with the sale or purchase of goods, wares, or merchandise, either to

the other party to such transaction or to an agent, representative, or other intermediary

therein where such intermediary is acting in fact for or in behalf, or is subject to the direct

or indirect control, of any party to such transaction other than the person by whom such

compensation is so granted or paid.

(d) Payment for services or facilities for processing or sale

It shall be unlawful for any person engaged in commerce to pay or contact for the payment

of anything of value to or for the benefit of a customer of such person in the course of such

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commerce as compensation or in consideration for any services or facilities furnished by or

through such customer in connection with the processing, handling, sale, or offering for sale

of any products or commodities manufactured, sold, or offered for sale by such person,

unless such payment or consideration is available on proportionally equal terms to all other

customers competing in the distribution of such products or commodities.

(e) Furnishing services or facilities for processing, handling, etc.

It shall be unlawful for any person to discriminate in favor of one purchaser against another

purchaser or purchasers of a commodity bought for resale, with or without processing, by

contracting to furnish or furnishing, or by contributing to the furnishing of, any services or

facilities connected with the processing, handling, sale, or offering for sale of such

commodity so purchased upon terms not accorded to all purchasers on proportionally equal

terms.

(f) Knowingly inducing or receiving discriminatory price

It shall be unlawful for any person engaged in commerce, in the course of such commerce,

knowingly to induce or receive a discrimination in price which is prohibited by this section.

15 USC 13a. Discrimination in rebates, discounts, or advertising service charges;

underselling in particular localities; penalties

It shall be unlawful for any person engaged in commerce, in the course of such commerce,

to be a party to, or assist in, any transaction of sale, or contract to sell, which discriminates

to his knowledge against competitors of the purchaser, in that, any discount, rebate,

allowance, or advertising service charge is granted to the purchaser over and above any

discount, rebate, allowance, or advertising service charge available at the time of such

transaction to said competitors in respect of a sale of goods of like grade, quality, and

quantity; to sell, or contract to sell, goods in any part of the United States at prices lower

than those exacted by said person elsewhere in the United States for the purpose of

destroying competition, or eliminating a competitor in such part of the United States;

or, to sell, or contract to sell, goods at unreasonably low prices for the purpose of

destroying competition or eliminating a competitor.

Any person violating any of the provisions of this section shall, upon conviction thereof, be

fined not more than $5,000 or imprisoned not more than one year, or both.

15 USC 15. Suits by persons injured

(a) Amount of recovery; prejudgment interest

Except as provided in subsection (b), any person who shall be injured in his business or

property by reason of anything forbidden in the antitrust laws may sue therefor in any

district court of the United States in the district in which the defendant resides or is found or

has an agent, without respect to the amount in controversy, and shall recover threefold the

damages by him sustained, and the cost of suit, including a reasonable attorney's fee. The

court may award under this section, pursuant to a motion by such person promptly made,

simple interest on actual damages for the period beginning on the date of service of such

person's pleading setting forth a claim under the antitrust laws and ending on the date of

judgment, or for any shorter period therein, if the court finds that the award of such interest

for such period is just in the circumstances. In determining whether an award of interest

under this section for any period is just in the circumstances, the court shall consider only73

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(1) whether such person or the opposing party, or either party's representative, made

motions or asserted claims or defenses so lacking in merit as to show that such party or

representative acted intentionally for delay, or otherwise acted in bad faith;

(2) whether, in the course of the action involved, such person or the opposing party, or

either party's representative, violated any applicable rule, statute, or court order providing

for sanctions for dilatory behavior or otherwise providing for expeditious proceedings; and

(3) whether such person or the opposing party, or either party's representative, engaged in

conduct primarily for the purpose of delaying the litigation or increasing the cost thereof.

(b) Amount of damages payable to foreign states and instrumentalities of foreign states

(1) Except as provided in paragraph (2), any person who is a foreign state may not recover

under subsection (a) an amount in excess of the actual damages sustained by it and the cost

of suit, including a reasonable attorney's fee.

(2) Paragraph (1) shall not apply to a foreign state if(A) such foreign state would be denied, under section 1605(a)(2) of title 28, immunity in a

case in which the action is based upon a commercial activity, or an act, that is the subject

matter of its claim under this section;

(B) such foreign state waives all defenses based upon or arising out of its status as a foreign

state, to any claims brought against it in the same action;

(D) such foreign state does not function, with respect to the commercial activity, or the act,

that is the subject matter of its claim under this section as a procurement entity for itself or

for another foreign state.

For purposes of this section(1) the term "commercial activity" shall have the meaning given it in section 1603(d) of title

28, and

(2) the term "foreign state" shall have the meaning given it in section 1603(a) of title 28 .

15 USC 15a. Suits by United States; amount of recovery; prejudgment interest

Whenever the United States is hereafter injured in its business or property by reason of

anything forbidden in the antitmst laws it may sue therefor in the United States district

court for the district in which the defendant resides or is found or has an agent, without

respect to the amount in controversy, and shall recover threefold the damages by it

sustained and the cost of suit. The court may award under this section, pursuant to a motion

by the United States promptly made, simple interest on actual damages for the period

beginning on the date of service of the pleading of the United States setting forth a claim

under the antitmst laws and ending on the date of judgment, or for any shorter period

therein, if the court finds that the award of such interest for such period is just in the

circumstances. In determining whether an award of interest under this section for any period

is just in the circumstances, the court shall consider only(1) whether the United States or the opposing party, or either party's representative, made

motions or asserted claims or defenses so lacking in merit as to show that such party or

representative acted intentionally for delay or otherwise acted in bad faith;

(2) whether, in the course of the action involved, the United States or the opposing party, or

either party's representative, violated any applicable mle, statute, or court order providing

for sanctions for dilatory behavior or otherwise providing for expeditious proceedings;

0065

(3) whether the United States or the opposing party, or either party's representative, engaged

in conduct primarily for the purpose of delaying the litigation or increasing the cost thereof;

and

(4) whether the award of such interest is necessary to compensate the United States

adequately for the injury sustained by the United States.

15 USC 15b. Limitation of actions

Any action to enforce any cause of action under section 15, 15a, or 15c of this title shall be

forever barred unless commenced within four years after the cause of action accrued. No

cause of action barred under existing law on the effective date of this Act shall be revived

by this Act.

15 USC 15d. Measurement of damages

In any action under section 15c(a)(l) of this title, in which there has been a determination

that a defendant agreed to fix prices in violation of sections 1 to 7 of this title, damages may

be proved and assessed in the aggregate by statistical or sampling methods, by the

computation of illegal overcharges, or by such other reasonable system of estimating

aggregate damages as the court in its discretion may permit without the necessity of

separately proving the individual claim of, or amount of damage to, persons on whose

behalf the suit was brought.

15 USC 15f. Actions by Attorney General

(a) Notification to State attorney general

Whenever the Attorney General of the United States has brought an action under the

antitrust laws, and he has reason to believe that any State attorney general would be entitled

to bring an action under this Act based substantially on the same alleged violation of the

antitrust laws, he shall promptly give written notification thereof to such State attorney

general.

(b) Availability of files and other materials

To assist a State attorney general in evaluating the notice or in bringing any action under

this Act, the Attorney General of the United States shall, upon request by such State

attorney general, make available to him, to the extent permitted by law, any investigative

files or other materials which are or may be relevant or material to the actual or potential

cause of action under this Act.

15 USC 15g. Definitions

For the purposes of sections 15c, 15d, 15e, and 15f of this title:

(1) The term "State attorney general" means the chief legal officer of a State, or any other

person authorized by State law to bring actions under section 15c of this title, and includes

the Corporation Counsel of the District of Columbia, except that such term does not include

any person employed or retained on(A) a contingency fee based on a percentage of the monetary relief awarded under this

section; or

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(B) any other contingency fee basis, unless the amount of the award of a reasonable

attorney's fee to a prevailing plaintiff is determined by the court under section 15c(d)(l) of

this title.

HARTER ACT

46 USC 190. Stipulations relieving from liability for negligence

It shall not be lawful for the manager, agent, master, or owner of any vessel transporting

merchandise or property from or between ports of the United States and foreign ports to

insert in any bill of lading or shipping document any clause, covenant, or agreement

whereby it, he, or they shall be relieved from liability for loss or damage arising from

negligence, fault, or failure in proper loading, stowage, custody, care, or proper delivery of

any and all lawful merchandise or property committed to its or their charge. Any and all

words or clauses of such import inserted in bills of lading or shipping receipts shall be null

and void and of no effect.

46 USC 191. Stipulations relieving from exercise of due diligence in equipping vessels

It shall not be lawful for any vessel transporting merchandise or property from or between

ports of the United States of America and foreign ports, her owner, master, agent, or

manager, to insert in any bill of lading or shipping document any covenant or

agreement whereby the obligations of the owner or owners of said vessel to exercise

due diligence 1 properly equip, man, provision, and outfit said vessel, and to make said

vessel seaworthy and capable of performing her intended voyage, or whereby the

obligations of the master, officers, agents, or servants to carefully handle and stow her

cargo and to care for and properly deliver same, shall in any wise be lessened, weakened,

or avoided.

46 USC 192. Limitation of liability for errors of navigation, dangers of sea and acts of

God

If the owner of any vessel transporting merchandise or property to or from any port in the

United States of America shall exercise due diligence to make the said vessel in all respects

seaworthy and properly manned, equipped, and supplied, neither the vessel, her owner or

owners, agent, or charterers, shall become or be held responsible for damage or loss

resulting from faults or errors in navigation or in the management of said vessel nor shall

the vessel, her owner or owners, charterers, agent, or master be held liable for losses arising

from dangers of the sea or other navigable waters, acts of God, or public enemies, or the

inherent defect, quality, or vice of the thing carried, or from insufficiency of package, or

seizure under legal process, or for loss resulting from any act or omission of the shipper or

owner of the goods, his agent or representative, or from saving or attempting to save life or

property at sea, or from any deviation in rendering such service.

46 USC 193. Bills of lading to be issued; contents

It shall be the duty of the owner or owners, masters, or agents of any vessel

transporting merchandise or property from or between ports of the United States and

foreign ports to issue to shippers of any lawful merchandise a bill of lading, or

shipping document, stating, among other things, the marks necessary for

identification, number of packages, or quantity, stating whether it be carrier’s or

shipper's weight, and apparent order or condition of such merchandise or property

0067

delivered to and received by the owner, master, or agent of the vessel for

transportation, and such document shall be prima facie evidence of the receipt of the

merchandise therein described.

46 USC 194. Penalties; liens; recovery

For a violation of any of the provisions of sections 190 to 196 of this Appendix the

agent, owner, or master of the vessel guilty of such violation, and who refuses to issue

on demand the bill of lading herein provided for, shall be liable to a fine not exceeding

$2,000. The amount of the fine and costs for such violation shall be a lien upon the

vessel, whose agent, owner, or master is guilty of such violation, and such vessel may

be libeled therefor in any district court of the United States, within whose jurisdiction

the vessel may be found. One-half of such penalty shall go to the party injured by such

violation and the remainder to the Government of the United States.

46 USC 196. Certain laws unaffected

Sections 190 to 196 of this Appendix shall not be held to modify or repeal sections 181 to

183 of this Appendix, or any other statute defining the liability of vessels, their owners, or

representatives.

CARRIAGE OF GOODS BY SEA ACT

46 USC 13701

In this chapter, the term “carrier” means the owner, manager, charterer, agent, or master

of a vessel.

Notes

This chapter codifies the Act of February 13, 1893 (ch. 105, 27 Stat. 445) (commonly

known as the Harter Act). Changes are made to simplify, clarify, and modernize the

language and style, but the intent is that these changes should not result in changes in

substance.

A definition of “earner” is added based on language appearing in various provisions of the

Harter Act. The definition avoids the need to repeat in various sections of this chapter the.

list of persons to whom the requirements and restrictions of this chapter apply, and it

ensures that the list of persons is consistent in the chapter.

Carriage of Goods by Sea Act

Act Apr. 16, 1936, ch. 229, 49 Stat. 1207. as amended by Pub. L. 97-31. § 12(146), Aug. 6,

1981, 95 Stat. 166, provided:

“That every bill of lading or similar document of title which is evidence of a contract for

the carriage of goods by sea to or from ports of the United States, in foreign trade, shall

have effect subject to the provisions of this Act.

"TITLE I

“Section 1. When used in this Act—

“(a) The term ‘carrier’ includes the owner or the charterer who enters into a contract of

carriage with a shipper.

0068

“(b) The term ‘contract of carriage’ applies only to contracts of carriage covered by a bill

of lading or any similar document of title, insofar as such document relates to the carriage

of goods by sea, including any bill of lading or any similar document as aforesaid issued

under or pursuant to a charter party from the moment at which such bill of lading or similar

document of title regulates the relations between a earner and a holder of the same.

“(c) The term ‘goods’ includes goods, wares, merchandise, and articles of every kind

whatsoever, except live animals and cargo which by the contract of carriage is stated as

being carried on deck and is so carried.

“(d) The term ‘ship’ means any vessel used for the carriage of goods by sea.

“(e) The term ‘carriage of goods’ covers the period from the time when the goods are

loaded on to the time when they are discharged from the ship.

“RISKS

“Sec. 2. Subject to the provisions of section 6, under every contract of carriage of goods by

sea, the carrier in relation to the loading, handling, stowage, carriage, custody, care, and

discharge of such goods, shall be subject to the responsibilities and liabilities and entitled to

the rights and immunities hereinafter set forth.

"RESPONSIBILITIES AND LIABILITIES

“Sec. 3.(1) The carrier shall be bound, before and at the beginning of the voyage, to

exercise due diligence to—

“(a) Make the ship seaworthy;

“(b) Properly man, equip, and supply the ship;

“(c) Make the holds, refrigerating and cooling chambers, and all other parts of the ship in

which goods are carried, fit and safe for their reception, carriage, and preservation.

“(2) The carrier shall properly and carefully load, handle, stow, carry, keep, care for, and

discharge the goods carried.

“(3) After receiving the goods into his. charge the carrier, or the master or agent of

the earner, shall, on demand of the shipper, issue to the shipper a bill of lading showing

among other things—

“(a) The leading marks necessary for identification of the goods as the same are furnished

in writing by the shipper before the loading of such goods starts, provided such marks are

stamped or otherwise shown clearly upon the goods if uncovered, or on the cases or

coverings in which such goods are contained, in such a manner as should ordinarily remain

legible until the end of the voyage.

“(b) Either the number of packages or pieces, or the quantity or weight, as the case may be,

as furnished in writing by the shipper.

“(c) The apparent order and condition of the goods: Provided, That no carrier, master, or

agent of the carrier, shall be bound to state or show in the bill of lading any marks, number,

quantity, or weight which he has reasonable ground for suspecting not accurately to

represent the goods actually received, or which he has had no reasonable means of

checking.

“(4) Such a bill of lading shall be prima facie evidence of the receipt by the carrier of the

goods as therein described in accordance with paragraphs (3)(a), (b), and (c), of this section:

Provided, That nothing in this Act shall be construed as repealing or limiting the application

of any part of the Act, as amended, entitled ‘An Act relating to bills of lading in interstate

and foreign commerce’, approved August 29, 1916 (U.S.C., title 49, secs. 81-124),

0069

commonly known as the ‘Pomerene Bills of Lading Act’ [now chapter 801 of Title 49,

Transportation],

“(5) The shipper shall be deemed to have guaranteed to the earner the accuracy at the time

of shipment of the marks, number, quantity, and weight, as furnished by him; and the

shipper shall indemnify the carrier against all loss, damages, and expenses arising or

resulting from inaccuracies in such particulars. The right of the carrier to such indemnity

shall in no way limit his responsibility and liability under the contract of carriage to any

person other than the shipper.

“(6) Unless notice of loss or damage and the general nature of such loss or damage be

given in writing to the carrier or his agent at the port of discharge before or at the time of

the removal of the goods into the custody of the person entitled to delivery thereof under the

contract of carriage, such removal shall be prima facie evidence of the delivery by

the carrier of the goods as described in the bill of lading. If the loss or damage is not

apparent, the notice must be given within three days of the delivery.

“Said notice of loss or damage may be endorsed upon the receipt for the goods given by the

person taking delivery thereof.

“The notice in writing need not be given if the state of the goods has at the time of their

receipt been the subject of joint survey or inspection.

“In any event the earner and the ship shall be discharged from all liability in respect of loss

or damage unless suit is brought within one year after delivery of the goods or the date

when the goods should have been delivered: Provided, That if a notice of loss or damage,

either apparent or concealed, is not given as provided for in this section, that fact shall not

affect or prejudice the right of the shipper to bring suit within one year after the delivery of

the goods or the date when the goods should have been delivered.

“In the case of any actual or apprehended loss or damage the earner and the receiver shall

give all reasonable facilities to each other for inspecting and tallying the goods.

“(7) After the goods are loaded the bill of lading to be issued by the carrier, master, or

agent of the earner to the shipper shall, if the shipper so demands, be a ‘shipped’ bill of

lading: Provided, That if the shipper shall have previously taken up any document of title to

such goods, he shall surrender the same as against the issue of the ‘shipped’ bill of lading,

but at the option of the earner such document of title may be noted at the port of shipment

by the carrier, master, or agent with the name or names of the ship or ships upon which the

goods have been shipped and the date or dates of shipment, and when so noted the same

shall for the purpose of this section be deemed to constitute a ‘shipped’ bill of lading.

“(8) Any clause, covenant, or agreement in a contract of carriage relieving the carrier or the

ship from liability for loss or damage to or in connection with the goods, arising from

negligence, fault, or failure in the duties and obligations provided in this section, or

lessening such liability otherwise than as provided in this Act, shall be null and void and of

no effect. A benefit of insurance in favor of the carrier, or similar clause, shall be deemed to

be a clause relieving the carrier from liability.

"RIGHTS AND IMMUNITIES

“Sec. 4. (1) Neither the carrier nor the ship shall be liable for loss or damage arising or

resulting from unseaworthiness unless caused by want of due diligence on the part of

the carrier to make the ship seaworthy, and to secure that the ship is properly manned,

equipped, and supplied, and to make the holds, refrigerating and cool chambers, and all

0070

other parts of the ship in which goods are carried fit and safe for their reception, carriage,

and preservation in accordance with the provisions of paragraph (1) of section 3. Whenever

loss or damage has resulted from unseaworthiness, the burden of proving the exercise of

due diligence shall be on the earner or other persons claiming exemption under this section.

“(2) Neither the carrier nor the ship shall be responsible for loss or damage arising or

resulting from—

“(a) Act, neglect, or default of the master, mariner, pilot, or the servants of the carrier in the

navigation or in the management of the ship;

“(b) Fire, unless caused by the actual fault or privity of the earner;

“(c) Perils, dangers, and accidents of the sea or other navigable waters;

“(d) Act of God;

“(e) Act of war;

“(f) Act of public enemies;

“(g) Arrest or restraint of princes, rulers, or people, or seizure under legal process;

“(h) Quarantine restrictions;

“(i) Act or omission of the shipper or owner of the goods, his agent or representative;

“(j) Strikes or lockouts or stoppage or restraint of labor from whatever cause, whether "

partial or general: Provided, That nothing herein contained shall be construed to relieve

a carrier from responsibility for the carrier’s own acts;

“(k) Riots and civil commotions;

“(1) Saving or attempting to save life or property at sea;

“(m) Wastage in bulk or weight or any other loss or damage arising from inherent defect,

quality, or vice of the goods;

“(n) Insufficiency of packing;

“(o) Insufficiency or inadequacy of marks;

“(p) Latent defects not discoverable by due diligence; and

“(q) Any other cause arising without the actual fault and privity of the carrier and without

the fault or neglect of the agents or servants of the carrier, but the burden of proof shall be

on the person claiming the benefit of this exception to show that neither the actual fault or

privity of the carrier nor the fault or neglect of the agents or servants of

the earner contributed to the loss or damage.

“(3) The shipper shall not be responsible for loss or damage sustained by the carrier or

the ship arising or resulting from any cause without the act, fault, or neglect of the

shipper, his agents, or his servants.

“(4) Any deviation in saving or attempting to save life or property at sea, or any reasonable

deviation shall not be deemed to be an infringement or breach of this Act or of the contract

of carriage, and the carrier shall not be liable for any loss or damage resulting therefrom:

0071

Provided, however, That if the deviation is for the purpose of loading or unloading cargo or

passengers it shall, prima facie, be regarded as unreasonable.

“(5) Neither the carrier nor the ship shall in any event be or become liable for any loss

or damage to or in connection with the transportation of goods in an amount

exceeding $500 per package lawful money of the United States, or in case of goods not

shipped in packages, per customary freight unit or the equivalent of that sum in other

currency, unless the nature and value of such goods have been declared by the shipper

before shipment and inserted in the bill of lading. This declaration, if embodied in the

bill of lading, shall be prima facie evidence, but shall not be conclusive on the carrier.

“By agreement between the carrier, master, or agent of the carrier, and the shipper another

maximum amount than that mentioned in this paragraph may be fixed: Provided, That such

maximum shall not be less than the figure above named. In no event shall the carrier be

liable for more than the amount of damage actually sustained.

“Neither the carrier nor the ship shall be responsible in any event for loss or damage to or in

connection with the transportation of the goods if the nature or value thereof has been

knowingly and fraudulently misstated by the shipper in the bill of lading.

“(6) Goods of an inflammable, explosive, or dangerous nature to the shipment whereof

the carrier, master or agent of the carrier, has not consented with knowledge of their nature

and character, may at any time before discharge be landed at any place or destroyed or

rendered innocuous by the carrier without compensation, and the shipper of such goods

shall be liable for all damages and expenses directly or indirectly arising out of or resulting

from such shipment. If any such goods shipped with such knowledge and consent shall

become a danger to the ship or cargo, they may in like manner be landed at any place, or

destroyed or rendered innocuous by the carrier without liability on the part of

the earner except to general average, if any.

"SURRENDER OF RIGHTS AND IMMUNITIES AND INCREASE OF RESPONSIBILITIES AND LIABILITIES

“Sec. 5. A earner shall be at liberty to surrender in whole or in part all or any of his rights

and immunities or to increase any of his responsibilities and liabilities under this Act,

provided such surrender or increase shall be embodied in the bill of lading issued to the

shipper.

“The provisions of this Act shall not be applicable to charter parties; but if bills of lading

are issued in the case of a ship under a charter party, they shall comply with the terms of

this Act. Nothing in this Act shall be held to prevent the insertion in a bill of lading of any

lawful provision regarding general average.

"SPECIAL CONDITIONS

“Sec. 6. Notwithstanding the provisions of the preceding sections, a carrier, master or agent

of the carrier, and a shipper shall, in regard to any particular goods be at liberty to enter into

any agreement in any terms as to the responsibility and liability of the carrier for such

goods, and as to the rights and immunities of the carrier in respect of such goods, or his

obligation as to seaworthiness (so far as the stipulation regarding seaworthiness is not

contrary to public policy), or the care or diligence of his servants or agents in regard to the

loading, handling, stowage, carriage, custody, care, and discharge of the goods carried

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by sea: Provided, That in this case no bill of lading has been or shall be issued and that

the terms agreed shall be embodied in a receipt which shall be a nonnegotiable

document and shall be marked as such.

“Any agreement so entered into shall have full legal effect: Provided, That this section shall

not apply to ordinary commercial shipments made in the ordinary course of trade but only

to other shipments where the character or condition of the property to be carried or the

circumstances, terms, and conditions under which the carriage is to be performed are such

as reasonably to justify a special agreement.

"[AGREEMENT AS TO RESPONSIBILITY AND LIABILITY BEFORE LOADING OR AFTER DISCHARGE]

“SEC. 7. Nothing contained in this Act shall prevent a carrier or a shipper from entering

into any agreement, stipulation, condition, reservation, or exemption as to the responsibility

and liability of the carrier or the ship for the loss or damage to or in connection with the

custody and care and handling of goods prior to the loading on and subsequent to the

discharge from the ship on which the goods are carried by sea.

"[RIGHTS AND LIABILITIES UNDER OTHER OBLIGATIONS]

“SEC. 8. The provisions of this Act shall not affect the rights and obligations of

the carrier under the provisions of the Shipping Act 1916 [former 46 U.S.C. App. 801 et

seq., see Disposition Table preceding section 101 of this title], or under the provisions of

sections 4281 to 4289, inclusive, of the Revised Statutes of the United States [see chapter

305 of this title] or of any amendments thereto; or under the provisions of any other

enactment for the time being in force relating to the limitation of the liability of the owners

of seagoing vessels.

“TITLE II

“[DISCRIMINATION BETWEEN COMPETING SHIPPERS]

“Section. 9. Nothing contained in this Act shall be construed as permitting a

common carrier bv water to discriminate between competing shippers similarly placed

in time and circumstances, either (a) with respect to their right to demand and receive

bills of lading subject to the provisions of this Act: or (b) when issuing such bills of

lading, either in the surrender of any of the carrier’s rights and immunities or in the

increase of any of the carrier’s responsibilities and liabilities pursuant to section 5,

title I, of this Act; or (c) in any other way prohibited bv the Shipping Act, 1916, as

amended [former 46 U.S.C. App, 801 et seq., see Disposition Table preceding section 101

of this title].

"[OMITTED]

“Sec. 10. [Amended section 25 of the Interstate Commerce Act (former 49 U.S.C. 25).]

“[WEIGHT OF BULK CARGO]

“Sec. 11. Where under the customs of any trade the weight of any bulk cargo inserted in

the bill of lading is a weight ascertained or accepted by a third party other than the carrier or

the shipper, and the fact that the weight is so ascertained or accepted is stated in the bill of

lading, then, notwithstanding anything in this Act, the bill of lading shall not be deemed to

be prima facie evidence against the carrier of the receipt of goods of the weight so inserted

in the bill of lading, and the accuracy thereof at the time of shipment shall not be deemed to

have been guaranteed by the shipper.

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"[RELATIONSHIP TO OTHER LAW]

“Sec. 12. Nothing in this Act shall be construed as superseding any part of the Act entitled

‘An Act relating to navigation of vessels, bills of lading, and to certain obligations, duties,

and rights in connection with the carriage of property’, approved February 13, 1893 [now

this chapter], or of any other law which would be applicable in the absence of this Act,

insofar as they relate to the duties, responsibilities, and liabilities of the ship

or carrier prior to the time when the goods are loaded on or after the time they are

discharged from the ship.

7SCOPE OF ACT; "UNITED STATES"; "FOREIGN TRADE"]

“Sec. 13. This Act shall apply to all contracts for carriage of goods by sea to or from ports

of the United States in foreign trade. As used in this Act the term ‘United States’ includes

its districts, territories, and possessions: Provided, however, That the Philippine Legislature

may by law exclude its application to transportation to or from ports of the Philippine

Islands. The term ‘foreign trade’ means the transportation of goods between the ports of the

United States and ports of foreign countries. Nothing in this Act shall be held to apply to

contracts for carriage of goods by sea between any port of the United States or its

possessions, and any other port of the United States or its possessions: Provided, however,

That any bill of lading or similar document of title which is evidence of a contract for the

carriage of goods by sea between such ports, containing an express statement that it shall be

subject to the provisions of this Act, shall be subjected hereto as fully as if subject hereto by

the express provisions of this Act: Provided further, That every bill of lading or similar

document of title which is evidence of a contract for the carriage of goods by sea from ports

of the United States, in foreign trade, shall contain a statement that it shall have effect

subject to the provisions of this Act.

“[As to proviso in second sentence that Philippine Legislature may by law exclude its

application to transportation to or from ports of the Philippine Islands, see Proc. No. 2695,

set out under section 1394 of Title 22, Foreign Relations and Intercourse, which proclaimed

the independence of the Philippines.]

"[SUSPENSION OF PROVISIONS BY PRESIDENT]

“Sec. 14. Upon the certification of the Secretary of Transportation that the foreign

commerce of the United States in its competition with that of foreign nations is prejudiced

by the provisions, or any of them, of title I of this Act, or by the laws of any foreign country

or countries relating to the carriage of goods by sea, the President of the United States may,

from time to time, by proclamation, suspend any or all provisions of said sections for such

periods of time or indefinitely as may be designated in the proclamation. The President may

at any time rescind such suspension of said sections, and any provisions thereof which may

have been suspended shall thereby be reinstated and again apply to contracts thereafter

made for the carriage of goods by sea. Any proclamation of suspension or rescission of any

such suspension shall take effect on a date named therein, which date shall be not less than

ten days from the issue of the proclamation.

“Any contract for the carriage of goods by sea, subject to the provisions of this Act,

effective during any period when title I hereof, or any part thereof, are suspended, shall be

subject to all provisions of law now or hereafter applicable to that part of title I which may

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have thus been suspended. [As amended Pub. L. 97-31, § 12(146), Aug. 6, 1981, 95 Stat

166.]

"[EFFECTIVE DATE]

“Sec. 15. This Act shall take effect ninety days after the date of its approval [April 16,

1936]; but nothing in this Act shall apply during a period not to exceed one year following

its approval to any contract for the carriage of goods by sea, made before the date on which

this Act is approved, nor to any bill of lading or similar document of title issued, whether

before or after such date of approval in pursuance of any such contract as aforesaid.

"[SHORT TITLE]

“Sec. 16. This Act may be cited as the ‘Carriage of Goods by Sea Act’.”

46 USC 30702

(a)In General.—

Except as otherwise provided, this chapter applies to a carrier engaged in the carriage of goods to or

from any port in the United States.

(b)LivE Animals.—

Sections 30703 and 30704 of this title do not apply to the carriage of live animals.

(Tub. L. 109-304. § 6(c). Oct. 6, 2006, 120 Stat. 1516.)

Notes

Subsection (a) is added based on language appearing in various source provisions restated '

in this chapter. The word “carriage” is substituted for “transporting”, and the word “goods”

is substituted for “merchandise or property”, to use the same terminology as in the Carriage

of Goods By Sea Act (Apr. 16, 1936, ch. 229, 49 Stat. 1207). The words “to or from any

port in the United States” are substituted for “from or between ports of the United States

and foreign ports” in 46 App. U.S.C. 190 and 193, “from or between ports of the United

States of America and foreign ports” in 46 App. U.S.C. 191, and “to or from any port in the

United States of America” in 46 App. U.S.C. 192, for clarity and consistency. See Knott v.

Botany Mills, 179 U.S. 69(1900).

46 USC 30703-Bill Of Lading

(a)ISSUANCE.—

On demand of a shipper, the carrier shall issue a bill of lading or shipping document.

(b)CoNTENTS.—The bill of lading or shipping document shall include a statement of—

(1) the marks necessary to identify the goods;

(2) the number of packages, or the quantity or weight, and whether it is carrier’s or

shipper’s weight; and

(3) the apparent condition of the goods.

(c)Prima Facie Evidence of Receipt.—

A bill of lading or shipping document Issued under this section is prima facie evidence

of receipt of the goods described.

Notes

In subsection (a), the words “On demand of a shipper” are added because of the reference to

a demand in 46 App. U.S.C. 194. The words “transporting merchandise or property from or

between ports of the United States and foreign ports” are omitted because of section

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30702(a) of the revised title. The word “lawful” (which modifies “merchandise”) is omitted

as unnecessary.

In subsection (b)(2), the words “or weight” are added for consistency with the requirement

to state whether it is the carrier’s or shipper’s weight.

In subsection (b)(3), the word “order” is omitted as redundant to “condition”. The words

“delivered to and received by . . . for transportation” are omitted as unnecessary.

46 USC 30704 - Loading, stowage, custody, care, and delivery

A carrier mav not insert in a bill of lading or shipping document a provision avoiding

its liability for loss or damage arising from negligence or fault in loading, stowage,

custody, care, or proper delivery. Any such provision is void.

Notes

The words “transporting merchandise or property from or between ports of the United

States and foreign ports” are omitted because of section 30702(a) of the revised title. The .

words “may not” are substituted for “It shall not be lawful . . . to”, and the word

“provision” is substituted for “clause, covenant, or agreement”, to eliminate unnecessary

words. The words “any and all lawful” and “committed to its or their charge” are omitted as

unnecessary. The words “Any such provision is void” are substituted for “Any and all

words or clauses of such import inserted in bills of lading or shipping receipts shall be null

and void and of no effect” to eliminate unnecessary words.

46 USC 30705.Seaworthiness

(a) Prohibition.—A carrier may not insert in a bill of lading or shipping document a

provision lessening or avoiding its obligation to exercise due diligence to—

(1) make the vessel seaworthy; and

(2) properly man, equip, and supply the vessel.

(b) Voidness.— A provision described in subsection (a) is void.

(Pub. L. 109-304. $ 6(c). Oct. 6, 2006, 120 Stat. 1516.1

46 USC 30706 - Defenses

(a)Due Diligence.—

If a earner has exercised due diligence to make the vessel in all respects seaworthy and to

properly man, equip, and supply the vessel, the carrier and the vessel are not liable for loss

or damage arising from an error in the navigation or management of the vessel.

(b) Other Defenses.—A carrier and the vessel are not liable for loss or damage arising

from—

(1) dangers of the sea or other navigable waters;

(2) acts of God;

(3) public enemies;

(4) seizure under legal process:

(5) inherent defect, quality, or vice of the goods;

(6) insufficiency of package;

(7) act or omission of the shipper or owner of the goods or their agent: or

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(8) saving or attempting to save life or property at sea, including a deviation in rendering

such a service.

Notes

This section is restated as two subsections to clarify that the exercise of due diligence in

making the vessel seaworthy is a condition only to the defense of error in navigation or

management restated in subsection (a). See May v. Hamburg-Amerikanische Packetfahrt

Aktiengesellschaft (The Isis), 290 U.S. 333, 353 (1933). The words “transporting

merchandise or property to or from any port in the United States of America” are omitted

because of section 30702(a) of the revised title.

46 USC 30707 - Criminal penalty

(a) In General.—

A carrier that violates this chapter shall be fined under title 18.

(b)Lien.—

The amount of the fine and costs for the violation constitute a lien on the vessel engaged in

the carriage. A civil action in rem to enforce the lien may be brought in the district court of

the United States for any district in which the vessel is found.

Half of the fine shall go to the person injured by the violation and half to the United States

Government.

In subsection (a), the words “and who refuses to issue on demand the bill of lading herein

provided for” are omitted as unnecessary. The words “shall be fined under title 18” are

substituted for “shall be liable to a fine not exceeding $2,000” because of chapter 227 of

title 18.

In subsection (b), the words “A civil action in rem to enforce the lien may be brought in the

district court of the United States for any district in which the vessel is found” are

substituted for “such vessel may be libeled therefor in any district court of the United

States” for clarity and to modernize the language.

Notes

This section is restated as two subsections to clarify that the exercise of due diligence in

making the vessel seaworthy is a condition only to the defense of error in navigation or

management restated in subsection (a). See May v. Hamburg-Amerikanische Packetfahrt

Aktiengesellschaft (The Isis), 290 U.S. 333, 353 (1933). The words “transporting

merchandise or property to or from any port in the United States of America” are omitted

because of section 30702(a) of the revised title.

46 USC 40301 - U.S. Code - Unannotated Title 46. Shipping § 40301. Application

(a) Ocean common carrier agreements. —This part applies to an agreement between or

among ocean common carriers to—

(1) discuss, fix, or regulate transportation rates, including through rates, cargo space

accommodations, and other conditions of service;

(2) pool or apportion traffic, revenues, earnings, or losses;

(3) allot ports or regulate the number and character of voyages between ports;

(4) regulate the volume or character of cargo or passenger traffic to be carried;

(5) engage in an exclusive, preferential, or cooperative working airangement between

themselves or with a marine terminal operator;

0077

(6) control, regulate, or prevent competition in international ocean transportation; or

(7) discuss and agree on any matter related to a service contract.

(b) Marine terminal operator agreements. —This part applies to an agreement between or

among marine terminal operators, or between or among one or more marine terminal

operators and one or more ocean common carriers, to—

(1) discuss, fix, or regulate rates or other conditions of service; or

(2) engage in exclusive, preferential, or cooperative working arrangements, to the

extent the agreement involves ocean transportation in the foreign commerce of the

United States.

indirectly, of any voting security or assets of any other person.

(d) Maritime labor agreements. —This part does not apply to a maritime labor agreement.

However, this subsection does not exempt from this part any rate, charge, regulation, or

practice of a common carrier that is required to be set forth in a tariff or is an essential term

of a service contract, whether or not the rate, charge, regulation, or practice arises out of, or

is otherwise related to, a maritime labor agreement.

(e) Assessment agreements. —This part (except sections 40305 and 40307(a)) does not

apply to an assessment agreement.

Title 18 - Crime

18 USC 1341 - Frauds & Swindles - mail Fraud

Whoever, having devised or intending to devise any scheme or artifice to defraud, or for

obtaining money or property by means of false or fraudulent pretenses, representations, or

promises, or to sell, dispose of, loan, exchange, alter, give away, distribute, supply, or

furnish or procure for unlawful use any counterfeit or spurious coin, obligation, security, or

other article, or anything represented to be or intimated or held out to be such counterfeit or

spurious article, for the purpose of executing such scheme or artifice or attempting so to do,

places in any post office or authorized depository for mail matter, any matter or thing

whatever to be sent or delivered by the Postal Service, or deposits or causes to be deposited

any matter or thing whatever to be sent or delivered by any private or commercial interstate

carrier, or takes or receives therefrom, any such matter or thing, or knowingly causes to be

delivered by mail or such carrier according to the direction thereon, or at the place at which

it is directed to be delivered by the person to whom it is addressed, any such matter or thing,

shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than 20 years, or both. If the violation

occurs in relation to, or involving any benefit authorized, transported, transmitted,

transferred, disbursed, or paid in connection with, a presidentially declared major disaster or

emergency (as those terms are defined in section 102 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster

Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5122)), or affects a financial institution,

such person shall be fined not more than $1,000,000 or imprisoned not more than 30 years,

or both.

18 USC 1342 - Fictitious Name or Address

Whoever, for the purpose of conducting, promoting, or carrying on by means of the Postal

Service, any scheme or device mentioned in section 1341 of this title or any other unlawful

business, uses or assumes, or requests to be addressed by, any fictitious, false, or assumed

title, name, or address or name other than his own proper name, or takes or receives from

any post office or authorized depository of mail matter, any letter, postal card, package, or

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other mail matter addressed to any such fictitious, false, or assumed title, name, or address,

or name other than his own proper name, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not

more than five years, or both.

18 USC 1343 - Fraud by wire, radio, or television

Whoever, having devised or intending to devise any scheme or artifice to defraud, or for

obtaining money or property by means of false or fraudulent pretenses, representations, or

promises, transmits or causes to be transmitted by means of wire, radio, or television

communication in interstate or foreign commerce, any writings, signs, signals, pictures, or

sounds for the purpose of executing such scheme or artifice, shall be fined under this title or

imprisoned not more than 20 years, or both.

18 USC 1344 - Bank fraud

Whoever knowingly executes, or attempts to execute, a scheme or artifice—

1. to defraud a financial institution; or

2. to obtain any of the moneys, funds, credits, assets, securities, or other property owned

by, or under the custody or control of, a financial institution, by means of false or

fraudulent pretenses, representations, or promises;

shall be fined not more than $1,000,000 or imprisoned not more than 30 years, or both.

18 USC 1346 - Definition of "scheme or artifice to defraud

For the purposes of this chapter, the term “scheme or artifice to defraud” includes a scheme

or artifice to deprive another of the intangible right of honest services.

18 USC 1951 - Interference with commerce by threats or violence

(a) Whoever in any way or degree obstructs, delays, or affects commerce or the

movement of any article or commodity in commerce, by robbery or extortion or

attempts or conspires so to do, or commits or threatens physical violence to any person or'

property in furtherance of a plan or purpose to do anything in violation of this section shall

be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than twenty years, or both.

(b)As used in this section—

(1) The term “robbery” means the unlawful taking or obtaining of personal property from

the person or in the presence of another, against his will, by means of actual or threatened

force, or violence, or fear of injury, immediate or future, to his person or property, or

property in his custody or possession, or the person or property of a relative or member of

his family or of anyone in his company at the time of the taking or obtaining.

(2) The term “extortion” means the obtaining of property from another, with his

consent, induced by wrongful use of actual or threatened force, violence, or fear, or

under color of official right.

(3) The term “commerce” means commerce within the District of Columbia, or any

Territory or Possession of the United States; all commerce between any point in a State,

Territory, Possession, or the District of Columbia and any point outside thereof;

0079

all commerce between points within the same State through any place outside such State;

and all other commerce over which the United States has jurisdiction.

18 USC 1952 - Interstate and foreign travel or transportation in aid of racketeering

enterprises

(a) Whoever travels in interstate or foreign commerce or uses the mail or any facility in

interstate or foreign commerce, with intent to—

(1) distribute the proceeds of any unlawful activity; or

(2) commit any crime of violence to further any unlawful activity; or

(3) otherwise promote, manage, establish, carry on, or facilitate the promotion,,

management, establishment, or carrying on, of any unlawful activity,

and thereafter performs or attempts to perform—

an act described in paragraph (1) or (3) shall be fined under this title,

(A)

imprisoned not more than 5 years, or both; or

(B) an act described in paragraph (2) shall be fined under this title, imprisoned for not more

than 20 years, or both, and if death results shall be imprisoned for any term of years or for

life.

(b) As used in this section (i) “unlawful activity” means (1) any business enterprise

involving gambling, liquor on which the Federal excise tax has not been paid, narcotics or

controlled substances (as defined in section 102(6) of the Controlled Substances Act), or

prostitution offenses in violation of the laws of the State in which they are committed or of

the United States, (2) extortion, bribery, or arson in violation of the laws of the State in

which committed or of the United States, or (3) any act which is indictable under

subchapter 11 of chapter 53 of title 31, United States Code, or under section 1956 or 1957 of

this title and (ii) the term “State” includes a State of the United States, the District of

Columbia, and any commonwealth, territory, or possession of the United States.

the supervision of the Attorney General .

(d) If the offense under this section involves an act described in paragraph (1) or (3) of

subsection (a) and also involves a pre-retail medical product (as defined in section 670), the

punishment for the offense shall be the same as the punishment for an offense under section

670 unless the punishment under subsection (a) is greater.

18 USC 1957 - Engaging in monetary transactions in property derived from

specified unlawful activity

(a) Whoever, in any of the circumstances set forth in subsection (d), knowingly engages or

attempts to engage in a monetary transaction in criminally derived property of a value

greater than $10,000 and is derived from specified unlawful activity, shall be punished

as provided in subsection (b).

(b) (1) Except as provided in paragraph (2), the punishment for an offense under this section

is a fine under title 18, United States Code, or imprisonment for not more than ten years or

both. If the offense involves a pre-retail medical product (as defined in section 670) the

punishment for the offense shall be the same as the punishment for an offense under section

670 unless the punishment under this subsection is greater.

0080

(2) The court may impose an alternate fine to that imposable under paragraph (1) of not

more than twice the amount of the criminally derived property involved in the transaction.

(c)In a prosecution for an offense under this section, the Government is not required to

prove the defendant knew that the offense from which the criminally derived property was

derived was specified unlawful activity.

(d)The circumstances referred to in subsection (a) are—

(l)that the offense under this section takes place in the United States or in the special

maritime and territorial jurisdiction of the United States; or

f2)that the offense under this section takes place outside the United States and such

special jurisdiction, but the defendant is a United States person (as defined in section

3077 of this title, but excluding the class described in paragraph (2)(D) of such

section).

(e) Violations of this section may be investigated by such components of the Department of

Justice as the Attorney General may direct, and by such components of the Department of

the Treasury as the Secretary of the Treasury may direct, as appropriate, and, with respect to

offenses over which the Department of Homeland Security has jurisdiction, by such

components of the Department of Homeland Security as the Secretary of Homeland

Security may direct, and, with respect to offenses over which the United States Postal

Service has jurisdiction, by the Postal Service. Such authority of the Secretary of the

Treasury, the Secretary of Homeland Security, and the Postal Service shall be exercised in ~

accordance with an agreement which shall be entered into by the Secretary of the Treasury, ^

the Secretary of Homeland Security, the Postal Service, and the Attorney General.

(f)As used in this section—

(1) the term “monetary transaction” means the deposit, withdrawal, transfer, or

exchange, in or affecting interstate or foreign commerce, of funds or a monetary

instrument (as defined in section 1956(c)(5) of this title) by, through, or to a financial

institution (as defined in section 1956 of this title), including any transaction that

would be a financial transaction under section 1956(c)(4)(B) of this title, but such term

does not include any transaction necessary to preserve a person’s right to

representation as guaranteed by the sixth amendment to the Constitution;

(2)the term “criminally derived property” means any property constituting, or

derived from, proceeds obtained from a criminal offense; and

(3) the terms “specified unlawful activity” and “proceeds” shall have the meaning

given those terms in section 1956 of this title.

18 USC 659 - Interstate or foreign shipments by carrier; State prosecutions

Whoever embezzles, steals, or unlawfully takes, carries away, or conceals, or by fraud

or deception obtains from any pipeline system, railroad car, wagon, motortruck, trailer,

or other vehicle, or from any tank or storage facility, station, station house, platform or

depot or from any steamboat, vessel, or wharf, or from any aircraft, air cargo container,

air terminal, airport, aircraft terminal or air navigation facility, or from any intermodal

container, trailer, container freight station, warehouse, or freight consolidation

facility, with intent to convert to his own use any goods or chattels moving as or which

are a part of or which constitute an interstate or foreign shipment of freight, express.

0081

or other property; or Whoever buys or receives or has in his possession any such

goods or chattels, knowing the same to have been embezzled or stolen; or

Whoever embezzles, steals, or unlawfully takes, carries away, or by fraud or deception

obtains with intent to convert to his own use any baggage which shall have come into the

possession of any common carrier for transportation in interstate or foreign commerce or

breaks into, steals, takes, carries away, or conceals any of the contents of such baggage, or

buys, receives, or has in his possession any such baggage or any article therefrom of

whatever nature, knowing the same to have been embezzled or stolen; or

Whoever embezzles, steals, or unlawfully takes by any fraudulent device, scheme, or game,

from any railroad car, bus, vehicle, steamboat, vessel, or aircraft operated by any common

carrier moving in interstate or foreign commerce or from any passenger thereon any money,

baggage, goods, or chattels, or whoever buys, receives, or has in his possession any such

money, baggage, goods, or chattels, knowing the same to have been embezzled or

stolen—Shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than 10 years, or both,

but if the amount or value of such money, baggage, goods, or chattels is less than $ 1,000,

shall be fined under this title or imprisoned for not more than 3 years, or both. If the offense

involves a pre-retail medical product (as defined in section 670), it shall be punished under

section 670 unless the penalties provided for under this section are greater.

The offense shall be deemed to have been committed not only in the district where the

violation first occurred, but also in any district in which the defendant may have taken or

been in possession of the said money, baggage, goods, or chattels.

The carrying or transporting of any such money, freight, express, baggage, goods, or

chattels in interstate or foreign commerce, knowing the same to have been stolen, shall

constitute a separate offense and subject the offender to the penalties under this section for

unlawful taking, and the offense shall be deemed to have been committed in any district

into which such money, freight, express, baggage, goods, or chattels shall have been

removed or into which the same shall have been brought by such offender.

To establish the interstate or foreign commerce character of any shipment in any

prosecution under this section the waybill or other shipping document of such shipment

shall be prima facie evidence of the place from which and to which such shipment was

made. For purposes of this section, goods and chattel shall be construed to be moving as an

interstate or foreign shipment at all points between the point of origin and the final

destination (as evidenced by the waybill or other shipping document of the shipment),

regardless of any temporary stop while awaiting transshipment or otherwise. The removal

of property from a pipeline system which extends interstate shall be prima facie evidence of

the interstate character of the shipment of the property.

A judgment of conviction or acquittal on the merits under the laws of any State shall be a

bar to any prosecution under this section for the same act or acts. Nothing contained in this

section shall be construed as indicating an intent on the part of Congress to occupy the field

in which provisions of this section operate to the exclusion of State laws on the same

subject matter, nor shall any provision of this section be construed as invalidating any

provision of State law unless such provision is inconsistent with any of the purposes of this

section or any provision thereof.

18 U.S. Code § 660.Carrier’s funds derived from commerce; State prosecutions

0082

Whoever, being a president, director, officer, or manager of any firm, association, or

corporation engaged in commerce as a common carrier, or whoever, being an employee of

such common carrier riding in or upon any railroad car, motortruck, steamboat, vessel,

aircraft or other vehicle of such carrier moving in interstate commerce, embezzles, steals,

abstracts, or willfully misapplies, or willfully permits to be misapplied, any of the moneys,

funds, credits, securities, property, or assets of such firm, association, or corporation arising

or accming from, or used in, such commerce, in whole or in part, or willfully or knowingly

converts the same to his own use or to the use of another, shall be fined under this title or

imprisoned not more than ten years, or both.

The offense shall be deemed to have been committed not only in the district where the

violation first occurred but also in any district in which the defendant may have taken or

had possession of such moneys, funds, credits, securities, property or assets.

A judgment of conviction or acquittal on the merits under the laws of any State shall be a

bar to any prosecution hereunder for the same act or acts.

18 USC 2314 - Transportation of stolen goods, securities, moneys, fraudulent State

tax stamps, or articles used in counterfeiting

Whoever transports, transmits, or transfers in interstate or foreign commerce any goods,

wares, merchandise, securities or money, of the value of $5,000 or more, knowing the same

to have been stolen, converted or taken by fraud; or

■f

Whoever, having devised or intending to devise any scheme or artifice to defraud, or for

obtaining money or property by means of false or fraudulent pretenses, representations, or

promises, transports or causes to be transported, or induces any person or persons to travel

in, or to be transported in interstate or foreign commerce in the execution or concealment of

a scheme or artifice to defraud that person or those persons of money or property having

a value of $5,000 or more; or

Whoever, with unlawful or fraudulent intent, transports in interstate or foreign commerce

any falsely made, forged, altered, or counterfeited securities or tax stamps, knowing the

same to have been falsely made, forged, altered, or counterfeited; or

Whoever, with unlawful or fraudulent intent, transports in interstate or foreign commerce

any traveler’s check bearing a forged countersignature; or

Whoever, with unlawful or fraudulent intent, transports in interstate or foreign commerce,

any tool, implement, or thing used or fitted to be used in falsely making, forging, altering,

or counterfeiting any security or tax stamps, or any part thereof; or

Whoever transports, transmits, or transfers in interstate or foreign commerce any veterans’

memorial object, knowing the same to have been stolen, converted or taken by fraud—

Shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than ten years, or both. If the offense

involves a pre-retail medical product (as defined in section 670) the punishment for the

offense shall be the same as the punishment for an offense under section 670 unless the

punishment under this section is greater. If the offense involves the transportation,

transmission, or transfer in interstate or foreign commerce of veterans’ memorial

objects with a value, in the aggregate, of less than $ 1,000, the defendant shall be fined

under this title or imprisoned not more than one year, or both.

This section shall not apply to any falsely made, forged, altered, counterfeited or spurious

representation of an obligation or other security of the United States, or of an obligation,

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bond, certificate, security, treasury note, bill, promise to pay or bank note issued by any

foreign government. This section also shall not apply to any falsely made, forged, altered,

counterfeited, or spurious representation of any bank note or bill issued by a bank or

corporation of any foreign country which is intended by the laws or usage of such country

to circulate as money.

For purposes of this section the term “veterans’ memorial object” means a grave marker,

headstone, monument, or other object, intended to permanently honor a veteran or mark a

veteran’s grave, or any monument that signifies an event of national military historical

significance.

18 USC 2315 - Sale or receipt of stolen goods, securities, moneys, or fraudulent

State tax stamps

Whoever receives, possesses, conceals, stores, barters, sells, or disposes of any goods,

wares, or merchandise, securities, or money of the value of $5,000 or more, or pledges or

accepts as security for a loan any goods, wares, or merchandise, or securities, of

the value of $500 or more, which have crossed a State or United States boundary after

being stolen, unlawfully converted, or taken, knowing the same to have been stolen,

unlawfully converted, or taken; or

Whoever receives, possesses, conceals, stores, barters, sells, or disposes of any falsely

made, forged, altered, or counterfeited securities or tax stamps, or pledges or accepts as

security for a loan any falsely made, forged, altered, or counterfeited securities or tax

stamps, moving as, or which are a part of, or which constitute interstate or foreign

commerce, knowing the same to have been so falsely made, forged, altered, or

counterfeited; or

Whoever receives in interstate or foreign commerce, or conceals, stores2 barters, sells, or

disposes of, any tool, implement, or thing used or intended to be used in falsely making,

forging, altering, or counterfeiting any security or tax stamp, or any part thereof, moving as,

or which is a part of, or which constitutes interstate or foreign commerce, knowing that the

same is fitted to be used, or has been used, in falsely making, forging, altering, or

counterfeiting any security or tax stamp, or any part thereof; or

‘Whoever £1] receives, possesses, conceals, stores, barters, sells, or disposes of

any veterans’ memorial object which has crossed a State or United States boundary after

being stolen, unlawfully converted, or taken, knowing the same to have been stolen,

unlawfully converted, or taken—’ [1]

Shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than ten years, or both. If the

offense involves a pre-retail medical product (as defined in section 670) the punishment for

the offense shall be the same as the punishment for an offense under section 670 unless the

punishment under this section is greater. If the offense involves the receipt, possession,

concealment, storage, barter, sale, or disposal of veterans’ memorial objects with a value, in

the aggregate, of less than $1,000, the defendant shall be fined under this title or imprisoned

not more than one year, or both.

For purposes of this section, the term “State” includes a State of the United States, the

District of Columbia, and any commonwealth, territory, or possession of the United States.

For purposes of this section the term “veterans’ memorial object” means a grave marker,

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headstone, monument, or other object, intended to permanently honor a veteran or mark a

veteran’s grave, or any monument that signifies an event of national military historical

significance.

Racketeering influenced Corrupt Organizations Act

18 USC 1961 - Definitions

As used in this chapter—

(l)“racketeering activity” means (A) any act or threat involving murder, kidnapping,

gambling, arson, robbery, bribery, extortion, dealing in obscene matter, or dealing in a

controlled substance or listed chemical (as defined in section 102 of the Controlled

Substances Act), which is chargeable under State law and punishable by imprisonment for

more than one year; (B) any act which is indictable under any of the following provisions of

title 18, United States Code: Section 201 (relating to bribery), section 224 (relating to sports

bribery), sections 471, 472, and 473 (relating to counterfeiting), section 659 (relating to

theft from interstate shipment) if the act indictable under section 659 is felonious, section

664 (relating to embezzlement from pension and welfare funds), sections 891-894 (relating

to extortionate credit transactions), section 1028 (relating to fraud and related activity in

connection with identification documents), section 1029 (relating to fraud and related

activity in connection with access devices), section 1084 (relating to the transmission of

gambling information), section 1341 (relating to mail fraud), section 1343 (relating to

wire fraud), section 1344 (relating to financial institution fraud), section 1351 (relating

to fraud in foreign labor contracting), section 1425 (relating to the procurement of

citizenship or nationalization unlawfully), section 1426 (relating to the reproduction of

naturalization or citizenship papers), section 1427 (relating to the sale of naturalization or

citizenship papers), sections 1461-1465 (relating to obscene matter), section 1503 (relating

to obstruction of justice), section 1510 (relating to obstruction of criminal investigations),

section 1511 (relating to the obstruction of State or local law enforcement), section 1512

(relating to tampering with a witness, victim, or an informant),_section 1513 (relating to

retaliating against a witness, victim, or an informant), section 1542 (relating to false

statement in application and use of passport), section 1543 (relating to forgery or false use

of passport), section 1544 (relating to misuse of passport), section 1546 (relating to fraud

and misuse of visas, permits, and other documents), sections 1581-1592 (relating to

peonage, slavery, and trafficking in personsVJll sections 1831 and 1832 (relating to

economic espionage and theft of trade secrets), section 1951 (relating to interference with

commerce, robbery, or extortion), section 1952 (relating to racketeering), section 1953

(relating to interstate transportation of wagering paraphernalia), section 1954 (relating to

unlawful welfare fund payments), section 1955 (relating to the prohibition of illegal

gambling businesses), section 1956 (relating to the laundering of monetary instruments),

section 1957 (relating to engaging in monetary transactions in property derived from

specified unlawful activity), section 1958 (relating to use of interstate commerce facilities

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in the commission of murder-for-hire), section 1960 (relating to illegal money transmitters),

sections 2251, 2251A, 2252, and 2260 (relating to sexual exploitation of children), sections

2312 and 2313 (relating to interstate transportation of stolen motor vehicles), sections 2314

and (relating to interstate transportation of stolen property), section 2318 (relating to

trafficking in counterfeit labels for phonorecords, computer programs or computer program

documentation or packaging and copies of motion pictures or other audiovisual works),

section 2319 (relating to criminal infringement of a copyright), section 2319A (relating to

unauthorized fixation of and trafficking in sound recordings and music videos of live

musical performances), section 2320 (relating to trafficking in goods or services bearing

counterfeit marks), section 2321 (relating to trafficking in certain motor vehicles or motor

vehicle parts), sections 2341-2346 (relating to trafficking in contraband cigarettes), sections

2421-24 (relating to white slave traffic), sections 175-178 (relating to biological weapons),

sections 229-229F (relating to chemical weapons), section 831 (relating to nuclear

materials), (C) any act which is indictable under title 29, United States Code, section 186

(dealing with restrictions on payments and loans to labor organizations) or section 501(c)

(relating to embezzlement from union funds), (D) any offense involving fraud connected

with a case under title 11 (except a case under section 157 of this title!, fraud in the sale of

securities, or the felonious manufacture, importation, receiving, concealment, buying,

selling, or otherwise dealing in a controlled substance or listed chemical (as defined in

section 102 of the Controlled Substances Act), punishable under any law of the

United States, (E) any act which is indictable under the Currency and Foreign Transactions

Reporting Act, (F) any act which is indictable under the Immigration and Nationality Act,

section 274 (relating to bringing in and harboring certain aliens), section 277 (relating to

aiding or assisting certain aliens to enter the United States), or section 278 (relating to

importation of alien for immoral purpose) if the act indictable under such section of such

Act was committed for the purpose of financial gain, or (G) any act that is indictable under

any provision listed in section 2332b(g)(5)(B);

(2) “State” means any State of the United States, the District of Columbia, the .

Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, any territory or possession of the United States, any

political subdivision, or any department, agency, or instrumentality thereof;

(3) “person” includes any individual or entity capable of holding a legal or beneficial

interest in property;

(4) “enterprise” includes any individual, partnership, corporation, association, or other legal

entity, and any union or group of individuals associated in fact although not a legal

entity;

(5) “pattern of racketeering activity” requires at least two acts of racketeering activity,

one of which occurred after the effective date of this chapter and the last of which

occurred within ten years (excluding any period of imprisonment) after the commission

of a prior act of racketeering activity;

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(6) “unlawful debt” means a debt (A) incurred or contracted in gambling activity which was

in violation of the law of the United States, a State or political subdivision thereof, or which

is unenforceable under State or Federal law in whole or in part as to principal or interest

because of the laws relating to usury, and (B) which was incurred in connection with the

business of gambling in violation of the law of the United States, a State or political

subdivision thereof, or the business of lending money or a thing of value at a rate usurious

under State or Federal law, where the usurious rate is at least twice the enforceable rate;

(7) “racketeering investigator” means any attorney or investigator so designated by

the Attorney General and charged with the duty of enforcing or carrying into effect this

chapter;

(8) “racketeering investigation” means any inquiry conducted by any racketeering

investigator for the purpose of ascertaining whether any person has been involved in any

violation of this chapter or of any final order, judgment, or decree of any court of the

United States, duly entered in any case or proceeding arising under this chapter;

(9) “documentary material” includes any book, paper, document, record, recording, or other

material; and

(10) “Attorney General” includes the Attorney General of the United States, the

Deputy Attorney General of the United States, the Associate Attorney General of the

United States, any Assistant Attorney General of the United States, or any employee of

the Department of Justice or any employee of any department or agency of the

United States so designated by the Attorney General to carry out the powers conferred on

the Attorney General by this chapter. Any department or agency so designated may use in

investigations authorized by this chapter either the investigative provisions of this chapter

or the investigative power of such department or agency otherwise conferred by law.

18 USC 1962 - Prohibited Activities

(a) It shall be unlawful for any person who has received any income derived, directly or

indirectly, from a pattern of racketeering activity or through collection of an unlawful

debt in which such person has participated as a principal within the meaning of section 2,

title 18, United States Code, to use or invest, directly or indirectly, any part of such income,

or the proceeds of such income, in acquisition of any interest in, or the establishment or

operation of, any enterprise which is engaged in, or the activities of which affect, interstate

or foreign commerce. A purchase of securities on the open market for purposes of

investment, and without the intention of controlling or participating in the control of the

issuer, or of assisting another to do so, shall not be unlawful under this subsection if the

securities of the issuer held by the purchaser, the members of his immediate family, and his

or their accomplices in any pattern or racketeering activity or the collection of anunlawful

debt after such purchase do not amount in the aggregate to one percent of the outstanding

securities of any one class, and do not confer, either in law or in fact, the power to elect one

or more directors of the issuer.

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(b) It shall be unlawful for any person through a pattern of racketeering activity or through

collection of an unlawful debt to acquire or maintain, directly or indirectly, any interest in

or control of any enterprise which is engaged in, or the activities of which affect, interstate

or foreign commerce.

any enterprise engaged in, or the activities of which affect, interstate or foreign commerce,

to conduct or participate, directly or indirectly, in the conduct of such enterprise’s affairs

through a pattern of racketeering activity or collection of unlawful debt.

(d) It shall be unlawful for any person to conspire to violate any of the provisions of

subsection (a), (b), or (c) of this section.

18 USC 1963 - Criminal Penalties

(a)Whoever violates any provision of section 1962 of this chapter shall be fined under this

title or imprisoned not more than 20 years (or for life if the violation is based on

a racketeering activity for which the maximum penalty includes life imprisonment), or both,

and shall forfeit to the United States, irrespective of any provision of State law—

(1) any interest the person has acquired or maintained in violation of section 1962;

(2)any—

(A) interest in;

(B) security of;

(D) property or contractual right of any kind affording a source of influence over;

any enterprise which the person has established, operated, controlled, conducted, or

participated in the conduct of, in violation of section 1962; and

(3) any property constituting, or derived from, any proceeds which the person obtained,

directly or indirectly, from racketeering activity or unlawful debt collection in violation of

section 1962.

The court, in imposing sentence on such person shall order, in addition to any other

sentence imposed pursuant to this section, that the person forfeit to the United States all

property described in this subsection. In lieu of a fine otherwise authorized by this section, a

defendant who derives profits or other proceeds from an offense may be fined not more

than twice the gross profits or other proceeds.

(b) Property subject to criminal forfeiture under this section includes—

(1) real property, including things growing on, affixed to, and found in land; and

(2) tangible and intangible personal property, including rights, privileges, interests, claims,

and securities.

United States upon the commission of the act giving rise to forfeiture under this section.

Any such property that is subsequently transferred to a person other than the defendant may

be the subject of a special verdict of forfeiture and thereafter shall be ordered forfeited to

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the United States, unless the transferee establishes in a hearing pursuant to subsection (1)

that he is a bona fide purchaser for value of such property who at the time of purchase was

reasonably without cause to believe that the property was subject to forfeiture under this

section.

(d) (l)Upon application of the United States, the court may enter a restraining order or

injunction, require the execution of a satisfactory performance bond, or take any other

action to preserve the availability of property described in subsection (a) for forfeiture

under this section—

(A) upon the filing of an indictment or information charging a violation of section 1962 of

this chapter and alleging that the property with respect to which the order is sought would,

in the event of conviction, be subject to forfeiture under this section; or

(B) prior to the filing of such an indictment or information, if, after notice

to persons appearing to have an interest in the property and opportunity for a hearing, the

court determines that—

(i) there is a substantial probability that the United States will prevail on the issue of

forfeiture and that failure to enter the order will result in the property being destroyed,

removed from the jurisdiction of the court, or otherwise made unavailable for forfeiture;

and

(ii) the need to preserve the availability of the property through the entry of the requested

order outweighs the hardship on any party against whom the order is to be entered:

Provided, however, That an order entered pursuant to subparagraph (B) shall be effective

for not more than ninety days, unless extended by the court for good cause shown or unless

an indictment or information described in subparagraph (A) has been filed.

(2) A temporary restraining order under this subsection may be entered upon application of

the United States without notice or opportunity for a hearing when an information or

indictment has not yet been filed with respect to the property, if the

United States demonstrates that there is probable cause to believe that the property with

respect to which the order is sought would, in the event of conviction, be subject to

forfeiture under this section and that provision of notice will jeopardize the availability of

the property for forfeiture. Such a temporary order shall expire not more than fourteen days

after the date on which it is entered, unless extended for good cause shown or unless the

party against whom it is entered consents to an extension for a longer period. A hearing

requested concerning an order entered under this paragraph shall be held at the earliest

possible time, and prior to the expiration of the temporary order.

(3) The court may receive and consider, at a hearing held pursuant to this subsection,

evidence and information that would be inadmissible under the Federal Rules of Evidence,

(e) Upon conviction of a person under this section, the court shall enter a judgment of

forfeiture of the property to the United States and shall also authorize the Attorney

General to seize all property ordered forfeited upon such terms and conditions as the court

shall deem proper. Following the entry of an order declaring the property forfeited, the

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court may, upon application of the United States, enter such appropriate restraining orders

or injunctions, require the execution of satisfactory performance bonds, appoint receivers,

conservators, appraisers, accountants, or trustees, or take any other action to protect the

interest of the United States in the property ordered forfeited. Any income accruing to, or

derived from, an enterprise or an interest in an enterprise which has been ordered forfeited

under this section may be used to offset ordinary and necessary expenses to

the enteiprise which are required by law, or which are necessary to protect the interests of

the United States or third parties.

(f) Following the seizure of property ordered forfeited under this section, the Attorney

General shall direct the disposition of the property by sale or any other commercially

feasible means, making due provision for the rights of any innocent persons. Any property

right or interest not exercisable by, or transferable for value to, the United States shall

expire and shall not revert to the defendant, nor shall the defendant or any person acting in

concert with or on behalf of the defendant be eligible to purchase forfeited property at any

sale held by the United States. Upon application of a person, other than the defendant or

a person acting in concert with or on behalf of the defendant, the court may restrain or stay

the sale or disposition of the property pending the conclusion of any appeal of the criminal

case giving rise to the forfeiture, if the applicant demonstrates that proceeding with the sale

or disposition of the property will result in irreparable injury, harm or loss to him.

Notwithstanding 31 U.S.C. 3302(b), the proceeds of any sale or other disposition of

property forfeited under this section and any moneys forfeited shall be used to pay all

proper expenses for the forfeiture and the sale, including expenses of seizure, maintenance

and custody of the property pending its disposition, advertising and court costs.

The Attorney General shall deposit in the Treasury any amounts of such proceeds or

moneys remaining after the payment of such expenses.

(g) With respect to property ordered forfeited under this section, the Attorney General is

authorized to—

(1) grant petitions for mitigation or remission of forfeiture, restore forfeited property to

victims of a violation of this chapter, or take any other action to protect the rights of

innocent persons which is in the interest of justice and which is not inconsistent with the

provisions of this chapter;

(2) compromise claims arising under this section;

(3) award compensation to persons providing information resulting in a forfeiture under this

section;

•

(4) direct the disposition by the United States of all property ordered forfeited under this

section by public sale or any other commercially feasible means, making due provision for

the rights of innocent persons; and

(5) take appropriate measures necessary to safeguard arid maintain property ordered •

forfeited under this section pending its disposition.

(h)The Attorney General may promulgate regulations with respect to—

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(1) making reasonable efforts to provide notice to persons who may have an interest in

property ordered forfeited under this section;

(2) granting petitions for remission or mitigation of forfeiture;

(3) the restitution of property to victims of an offense petitioning for remission or mitigation

of forfeiture under this chapter;

(4) the disposition by the United States of forfeited property by public sale or other

commercially feasible means;

(5) the maintenance and safekeeping of any property forfeited under this section pending its

disposition; and

(6) the compromise of claims arising under this chapter.

Pending the promulgation of such regulations, all provisions of law relating to the

disposition of property, or the proceeds from the sale thereof, or the remission or mitigation

of forfeitures for violation of the customs laws, and the compromise of claims and the

award of compensation to informers in respect of such forfeitures shall apply to forfeitures

incurred, or alleged to have been incurred, under the provisions of this section, insofar as

applicable and not inconsistent with the provisions hereof. Such duties as are imposed upon

the Customs Service or any person with respect to the disposition of property under the

customs law shall be performed under this chapter by the Attorney General.

(i) Except as provided in subsection (1), no party claiming an interest in property subject to

►

forfeiture under this section may—

(1) intervene in a trial or appeal of a criminal case involving the forfeiture of such property

under this section; or .

(2) commence an action at law or equity against the United States concerning the validity of

his alleged interest in the property subsequent to the filing of an indictment or information

alleging that the property is subject to forfeiture under this section. .

(j) The district courts of the United States shall have jurisdiction to enter orders as provided

in this section without regard to the location of any property which may be subject to

forfeiture under this section or which has been ordered forfeited under this section.

(k) In order to facilitate the identification or location of property declared forfeited and to

facilitate the disposition of petitions for remission or mitigation of forfeiture, after the entry

of an order declaring property forfeited to the United States the court may, upon application

of the United States, order that the testimony of any witness relating to the property

forfeited be taken by deposition and that any designated book, paper, document, record,

recording, or other material not privileged be produced at the same time and place, in the

same manner as provided for the taking of depositions under Rule 15 of the Federal Rules

of Criminal Procedure.

(1) (1)

Following the entry of an order of forfeiture under this section, the United States shall

publish notice of the order and of its intent to dispose of the property in such manner as

the Attorney General may direct. The Government may also, to the extent practicable,

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provide direct written notice to any person known to have alleged an interest in the property

that is the subject of the order of forfeiture as a substitute for published notice as to

those persons so notified.

(2) Any person, other than the defendant, asserting a legal interest in property which has

been ordered forfeited to the United States pursuant to this section may, within thirty days

of the final publication of notice or his receipt of notice under paragraph (1), whichever is

earlier, petition the court for a hearing to adjudicate the validity of his alleged interest in the

property. The hearing shall be held before the court alone, without a jury.

(3) The petition shall be signed by the petitioner under penalty of perjury and shall set forth

the nature and extent of the petitioner’s right, title, or interest in the property, the time and

circumstances of the petitioner’s acquisition of the right, title, or interest in the property,

any additional facts supporting the petitioner’s claim, and the relief sought.

(4) The hearing on the petition shall, to the extent practicable and consistent with the

interests of justice, be held within thirty days of the filing of the petition. The court may

consolidate the hearing on the petition with a hearing on any other petition filed by

a person other than the defendant under this subsection.

(5) At the hearing, the petitioner may testify and present evidence and witnesses on his own

behalf, and cross-examine witnesses who appear at the hearing. The United States may

present evidence and witnesses in rebuttal and in defense of its claim to the property and

cross-examine witnesses who appear at the hearing. In addition to testimony and evidence

presented at the hearing, the court shall consider the relevant portions of the record of the

criminal case which resulted in the order of forfeiture.

(6)If, after the hearing, the court determines that the petitioner has established by a

preponderance of the evidence that—

(A) the petitioner has a legal right, title, or interest in the property, and such right, title, or

interest renders the order of forfeiture invalid in whole or in part because the right, title, or

interest was vested in the petitioner rather than the defendant or was superior to any right,

title, or interest of the defendant at the time of the commission of the acts which gave rise to

the forfeiture of the property under this section; or

(B) the petitioner is a bona fide purchaser for value of the right, title, or interest in the

property and was at the time of purchase reasonably without cause to believe that the

property was subject to forfeiture under this section;

the court shall amend the order of forfeiture in accordance with its determination.

(7) Following the court’s disposition of all petitions filed under this subsection, or if no

such petitions are filed following the expiration of the period provided in paragraph (2) for

the filing of such petitions, the United States shall have clear title to property that is the

subject of the order of forfeiture and may warrant good title to any subsequent purchaser or

transferee.

(m)If any of the property described in subsection (a), as a result of any act or omission of

the defendant—

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(1) cannot be located upon the exercise of due diligence;

(2) has been transferred or sold to, or deposited with, a third party;

(3) has been placed beyond the jurisdiction of the court;

(4) has been substantially diminished in value; or

(5) has been commingled with other property which cannot be divided without difficulty;

the court shall order the forfeiture of any other property of the defendant up to the value of

any property described in paragraphs (1) through (5).

18 USC 1964 - Civil Remedies

(a)The district courts of the United States shall have jurisdiction to prevent and restrain

violations of section 1962 of this chapter by issuing appropriate orders, including, but not

limited to: ordering any person to divest himself of any interest, direct or indirect, in

any enterprise; imposing reasonable restrictions on the future activities or investments of

any person, including, but not limited to, prohibiting any person from engaging in the same

type of endeavor as the enterprise engaged in, the activities of which affect interstate or

foreign commerce; or ordering dissolution or reorganization of any enterprise, making due

provision for the rights of innocent persons.

(b) The Attorney General may institute proceedings under this section. Pending final

determination thereof, the court may at any time enter such restraining orders or

prohibitions, or take such other actions, including the acceptance of satisfactory

performance bonds, as it shall deem proper.

of this chapter may sue therefor in any appropriate United States district court and shall

recover threefold the damages he sustains and the cost of the suit, including a reasonable

attorney’s fee, except that no person may rely upon any conduct that would have been

actionable as fraud in the purchase or sale of securities to establish a violation of section

1962. The exception contained in the preceding sentence does not apply to an action against

any person that is criminally convicted in connection with the fraud, in which case the

statute of limitations shall start to run on the date on which the conviction becomes final.

(d) A final judgment or decree rendered in favor of the United States in any criminal

proceeding brought by the United States under this chapter shall estop the defendant from

denying the essential allegations of the criminal offense in any subsequent civil proceeding

brought by the United States.

18 USC 1965 - Venue

(a) Any civil action or proceeding under this chapter against any person may be instituted in

the district court of the United States for any district in which such person resides, is found,

has an agent, or transacts his affairs.

(b) In any action under section 1964 of this chapter in any district court of the

United States in which it is shown that the ends of justice require that other parties residing

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in any other district be brought before the court, the court may cause such parties to be

summoned, and process for that purpose may be served in any judicial district of the

United States by the marshal thereof.

chapter in the district court of the United States for any judicial district, subpenas issued by

such court to compel the attendance of witnesses may be served in any other judicial

district, except that in any civil action or proceeding no such subpena shall be issued for

service upon any individual who resides in another district at a place more than one hundred

miles from the place at which such court is held without approval given by a judge of such

court upon a showing of good cause.

(d) All. other process in any action or proceeding under this chapter may be served on

any person in any judicial district in which such person resides, is found, has an agent, or

transacts his affairs.

18 U.S. Code § 1503.1nfluencing or injuring officer or juror generally

(a) Whoever corruptly, or by threats or force, or by any threatening letter or

communication, endeavors to influence, intimidate, or impede any grand or petit juror, or

officer in or of any court of the United States, or officer who may be serving at any

examination or other proceeding before any United States magistrate judge or other

committing magistrate, in the discharge of his duty, or injures any such grand or petit juror

in his person or property on account of any verdict or indictment assented to by him, or on

account of his being or having been such juror, or injures any such officer, magistrate judge,

or other committing magistrate in his person or property on account of the performance of

his official duties, or corruptly or by threats or force, or by any threatening letter or

communication, influences, obstructs, or impedes, or endeavors to influence, obstruct,

or impede, the due administration of justice, shall be punished as provided in

subsection (b). If the offense under this section occurs in connection with a trial of a

criminal case, and the act in violation of this section involves the threat of physical force or

physical force, the maximum term of imprisonment which may be imposed for the offense

shall be the higher of that otherwise provided by law or the maximum tenn that could have

been imposed for any offense charged in such case.

(b)The punishment for an offense under this section is—

(1) in the case of a killing, the punishment provided in sections 1111 and 1112;

(2) in the case of an attempted killing, or a case in which the offense was committed against

a petit juror and in which a class A or B felony was charged, imprisonment for not more

than 20 years, a fine under this title, or both; and

(3) in any other case, imprisonment for not more than 10 years, a fine under this title, or

both.

Deprivation Of Civil Rights

42 U.S. Code § 1981.Equal rights under the law

(a)Statement of equal rights

All persons within the jurisdiction of the United States shall have the same right in every

State and Territory to make and enforce contracts, to sue, be parties, give evidence, and to

the full and equal benefit of all laws and proceedings for the security of persons and

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property as is enjoyed by white citizens, and shall be subject to like punishment, pains,

penalties, taxes, licenses, and exactions of every kind, and to no other.

(b)“Make and enforce contracts” defined

For purposes of this section, the term “make and enforce contracts” includes the making,

performance, modification, and termination of contracts, and the enjoyment of all benefits,

privileges, terms, and conditions of the contractual relationship.

The rights protected by this section are protected against impairment by nongovernmental

discrimination and impairment under color of State law.

42 U.S. Code § 1982.Property rights of citizens

All citizens of the United States shall have the same right, in every State and Territory, as is

enjoyed by white citizens thereof to inherit, purchase, lease, sell, hold, and convey real and

personal property.

42 U.S. Code § 1983.Civil action for deprivation of rights

Every person who, under color of any statute, ordinance, regulation, custom, or usage, of

any State or Territory or the District of Columbia, subjects, or causes to be subjected, any

citizen of the United States or other person within the jurisdiction thereof to the deprivation

of any rights, privileges, or immunities secured by the Constitution and laws, shall be liable

to the party injured in an action at law, suit in equity, or other proper proceeding for redress,

except that in any action brought against a judicial officer for an act or omission taken in

such officer’s judicial capacity, injunctive relief shall not be granted unless a declaratory

decree was violated or declaratory relief was unavailable. For the purposes of this section,

any Act of Congress applicable exclusively to the District of Columbia shall be considered

to be a statute of the District of Columbia.

“

42 U.S. Code § 1985.Conspiracy to interfere with civil rights

(1) Preventing officer from performing duties

If two or more persons in any State or Territory conspire to prevent, by force, intimidation,

or threat, any person from accepting or holding any office, trust, or place of confidence

under the United States, or from discharging any duties thereof; or to induce by like means

any officer of the United States to leave any State, district, or place, where his duties as an

officer are required to be performed, or to injure him in his person or property on account of

his lawful discharge of the duties of his office, or while engaged in the lawful discharge

thereof, or to injure his property so as to molest, interrupt, hinder, or impede him in the

discharge of his official duties;

(2) Obstructing justice; intimidating party, witness, or juror

If two or more persons in any State or Territory conspire to deter, by force, intimidation, or

threat, any party or witness in any court of the United States from attending such court, or

from testifying to any matter pending therein, freely, fully, and truthfully, or to injure such

party or witness in his person or property on account of his having so attended or testified,

or to influence the verdict, presentment, or indictment of any grand or petit juror in any

such court, or to injure such juror in his person or property on account of any verdict,

presentment, or indictment lawfully assented to by him, or of his being or having been such

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juror; or if two or more persons conspire for the purpose of impeding, hindering,

obstructing, or defeating, in any manner, the due course of justice in any State or Territory,

with intent to deny to any citizen the equal protection of the laws, or to injure him or his

property for lawfully enforcing, or attempting to enforce, the right of any person, or class of

persons, to the equal protection of the laws;

(3)Depriving persons of rights or privileges

If two or more persons in any State or Territory conspire or go in disguise on the highway

or on the premises of another, for the purpose of depriving, either directly or indirectly, any

person or class of persons of the equal protection of the laws, or of equal privileges and

immunities under the laws; or for the purpose of preventing or hindering the constituted

authorities of any State or Territory from giving or securing to all persons within such State

or Territory the equal protection of the laws; or if two or more persons conspire to prevent

by force, intimidation, or threat, any citizen who is lawfully entitled to vote, from giving his

support or advocacy in a legal manner, toward or in favor of the election of any lawfully

qualified person as an elector for President or Vice President, or as a Member

of Congress of the United States; or to injure any citizen in person or property on account of

such support or advocacy; in any case of conspiracy set forth in this section, if one or more

persons engaged therein do, or cause to be done, any act in furtherance of the object of such

conspiracy, whereby another is injured in his person or property, or deprived of having and

exercising any right or privilege of a citizen of the United States, the party so injured or

deprived may have an action for the recovery of damages occasioned by such injury or

deprivation, against any one or more of the conspirators.