Local Rule Civil L. R. 67: Security; Deposit Into Court; Withdrawal of Monies; Registry Fee

Civil L. R. 67. Security; Deposit Into Court; Withdrawal of Monies; Registry Fee.

(a) Required Security. In addition to any security required by law, the Court, at any time upon good cause shown, may order that security for costs be given by any party.

(b) Forms of Security. Security for costs must consist of a cash deposit or a bond, with surety, in the sum of $250.00 unless otherwise ordered. The security must be conditioned to secure the payment of costs that the posting party may ultimately be ordered to pay to a party. A corporation authorized by the Secretary of the Treasury of the United States must be accepted as surety on bonds. A party may raise objections to the form, amount, or sufficiency of security for costs.

(c) Deposit of Monies. Unless the Court designates a trustee other than the Clerk of Court or orders other procedures, the following procedure for the deposit of monies applies:

(1) Upon motion or stipulation and an order of the Court, all monies paid into the Court must be deposited in the United States Treasury. However, the Court may direct the Clerk of Court to place the monies in an interest-bearing account in the Court Registry Investment System ("CRIS"). Funds deposited with CRIS are considered to be on deposit in the United States Treasury and thus are not subject to collateralization and insurance requirements applicable to funds on deposit with local financial institutions.

(2) The monies must be invested in the name of the Clerk of Court "under order of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin, Case No. ______."

(3) The Clerk of Court must file a certified copy of the Court order for the deposit of the monies with the institution where the monies are invested.

(d) Withdrawal of Monies. The Clerk of Court may only withdraw deposited monies when directed by a court order.

(e) Registry Fee. The CRIS Administrator will deduct a registry fee from income earned on registry monies invested in CRIS. The fee will not exceed that authorized by the Judicial Conference of the United States and set by the Director of the Administrative Office in accordance with the schedule published periodically by the Director in the Federal Register. The fee is withdrawn whenever income earned becomes available and is be deposited in the United States Treasury, without further order of the Court. This assessment applies to all investments of registry monies.

Committee Comment: Civil L. R. 67 includes former Civil L. R. 67.1-67.4. The rule has been substantially re-written and unnecessary provisions have been deleted.

Two sentences were deleted from former Civil L. R. 67.2 because the Clerk of Court's Office informed the Committee that the provision authorizing persons to serve as surety in civil actions has not been used. The deleted sentences are: "An individual resident of the District who owns real or personal property within the District, the unencumbered value of which is equal to the amount of the bond, may be accepted by the Court as surety upon a bond. No member of the bar or officer of this Court must be accepted as surety upon any bond or similar undertaking." Former Civil L. R. 67.2 is now designated as Civil L. R. 67(b).

Civil L. R. 67(c) has been redrafted to replace former Civil L. R. 67.3(a) with a provision that establishes the procedure of former Civil L. R. 67.3(b) as the default procedure. The change was made because the Clerk of Court's Office informed the Committee that the alternative trustee provision has not been used. However, the introductory clause of Civil L. R. 67(c) continues to provide for designation of an alternative trustee or alternative procedures, in the event that option would become necessary or more appropriate in a particular circumstance.

Civil L. R. 67(c) deletes the references to the Federal Savings and Loan Insurance Corporation Act, repealed on August 9, 1989, and to Federal Savings and Loan Associations.

The provision of former Civil L. R. 67.3(a)(3) for the deposit of monies in certificates of deposit has been deleted. To avoid penalties for early withdrawals, the Clerk of Court does not invest monies in certificates of deposit.

Civil L. R. 67(e) is new. It has been added based on consideration of 11 GUIDE TO JUDICIARY POLICIES AND PROCEDURES, Chap. VII: Financial Management, 2.7.6 (Administrative Office of Courts Dec. 1999), encouraging courts to adopt local rules authorizing the Clerk of Court to assess the registry fee and deduct it from the "income earnings" without the need for a subsequent court direction in each individual case, because of the statutory requirement that no money may be withdrawn from the registry without a Court order). The language of Civil L. R. 67(e) is based on the sample local rule in Exhibit I-5 in the GUIDE.

In 2013, the Clerk's Office for the Eastern District of Wisconsin enrolled in the Court Registry Investment System "CRIS," administered by the Administrative Office of the United States Courts. The changes to Civil L. R. 67 are made to effectuate participation in the CRIS program. Under this program, the Clerk's Office will deposit registry funds into the United States Treasury in accordance with 13 GUIDE TO JUDICIARY POLICY Chap. 3: Receipting & Collections (Administrative Office of the Courts Dec. 2014)..