Local Rule Civil Rule 67.1: Deposit and Disbursements of Registry Funds

Civil Rule 67.1 Deposit and Disbursements of Registry Funds a. Receipt of Funds. 1. No money will be sent to the Court or its officers for deposit in the Court's registry without a court order signed by the presiding district or magistrate judge in the case or proceeding. 2. The party making the deposit or transferring funds to the Court's registry will serve the order permitting the deposit or transfer on the Clerk of Court. 3. Unless provided for elsewhere in this Local Rule, all monies ordered to be paid to the Court or received by its officers in any case pending or adjudicated will be deposited with the Treasurer of the United States in the name and to the credit of this court pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2041 through depositories designated by the Treasury to accept such deposit on its behalf. b. Investment of Registry Funds 1. Unless otherwise ordered by a district judge, all funds deposited in the registry of the Court in which the principal equals or exceeds $5,000 are to be placed in an interest-bearing account. The Court Registry Investment System ("CRIS"), administered by the Administrative Office of the United States Courts under 28 U.S.C. § 2045, will be the only investment mechanism authorized. 2. The Director of the Administrative Office of the United States Courts is designated as custodian for CRIS. The Director or the Director's designee will perform the duties of custodian. Funds held in the CRIS remain subject to the control and jurisdiction of the Court. 3. Money from each case deposited in the CRIS will be "pooled" together with those on deposit with the Treasury to the credit of other courts in the CRIS and used to purchase Government Account Securities through the Bureau of Public Debt, which will be held at the Treasury, in an account in the name and to the credit of the Director of the Administrative Office of the United States Courts. The pooled funds will be invested in accordance with the principals of the CRIS Investment Policy as approved by the Registry Monitoring Group. 4. An account for each case will be established in the CRIS titled in the name of the case giving rise to the investment of the fund. Income generated from fund investments will be distributed to each case based on the ratio each account's principal and earnings has to the aggregate principal and income total in the fund. Reports showing the interest earned and the principal amounts contributed in each case will be prepared and distributed to each court participating in the CRIS and made available to litigants and/or their counsel. c. Deduction of Fees 1. The custodian is authorized and directed by this Local Rule to deduct the investment services fee for the management of investments in the CRIS and the registry fee for maintaining accounts deposited with the Court. 2. The investment services fee is assessed from interest earnings to the pool and is to be assessed before a pro rata distribution of earnings to court cases. 3. The registry fee is assessed by the custodian from each case's pro rata distribution of the earnings and is to be determined on the basis of the rates published by the Director of the Administrative Office of the United States Courts as approved by the Judicial Conference of the United States. d. Disbursement of Registry Funds 1. Upon the entry of a judgment, funds, if any, on deposit in the registry of the Court will be disbursed only by order of the Court after the time for appeal has expired, or upon written stipulation by all parties approved by the Court. 2. Each order directing the Clerk to disburse funds must be clearly entitled "order to disburse funds" and must be without conditions to be met prior to disbursement of said funds. It must indicate which parties are entitled to principal and any accrued interest. The order must also contain the name and mailing address of the party entitled to said funds, unless forbidden elsewhere in these rules of the Court's General Order, in which case the information may be redacted and/or provided directly to the Clerk's Financial Office. Taxpayer identification numbers for the check payees must be delivered directly to the Clerk's Financial Office prior to disbursement. 3. A sample order is available from the Clerk's Office.