Free Answer - District Court of Federal Claims - federal

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IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF FEDERAL CLAIMS FRANCISCO JAVIER RIVERA AGREDANO, Plaintiff, v. THE UNITED STATES, Defendant. ) ) ) ) ) ) ) )

No. 05-608C (Judge Hewitt)

DEFENDANT'S ANSWER For its answer to the complaint, defendant admits, denies, and alleges as follows: 1. The allegations contained in paragraph 1 constitute

conclusions of law and plaintiff's characterizations of his case, to which no response is required; to the extent they may be deemed allegations of fact, they are denied. 2. The allegations contained in paragraph 2 constitute

conclusions of law and plaintiff's characterizations of his case, to which no response is required; to the extent they may be deemed allegations of fact, they are denied. 3. The allegations contained in the first sentence of

paragraph 3 constitute conclusions of law and plaintiff's characterizations of his case, to which no response is required; to the extent they may be deemed allegations of fact, they are denied. Admits the allegations contained in the second and third

sentences of paragraph 3 that plaintiff and defendant stipulated that plaintiff would file a sixth amended complaint in the Federal District Court for the Southern District of California,

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and that the district court transferred plaintiff's claims to this Court. Denies any implication that the parties or the

district court may confer jurisdiction upon this Court where it does not already exist. 4. Denies the allegations contained in paragraph 4 for

lack of knowledge or information sufficient to form a belief as to their truth. 5. Denies the allegations contained in paragraph 5 for

lack of knowledge or information sufficient to form a belief as to their truth. 6. action. Admits that the United States is the defendant in this The remaining allegations contained in paragraph 6

constitute conclusions of law and plaintiff's characterizations of his case, to which no response is required; to the extent they may be deemed allegations of fact, they are denied. 7. The allegations contained in paragraph 7 constitute

plaintiff's characterizations of his case, to which no response is required. 8. Denies the allegations contained in paragraph 8 for

lack of knowledge or information sufficient to form a belief as to their truth. 9. 10. 11. 12. Admits. Admits. Admits. Admits. -2-

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13. 14.

Admits. Denies the allegations contained in paragraph 14 for

lack of knowledge or information sufficient to form a belief as to their truth. 15. Denies the allegations contained in paragraph 15 for

lack of knowledge or information sufficient to form a belief as to their truth. 16. Denies the allegations contained in paragraph 16 for

lack of knowledge or information sufficient to form a belief as to their truth. 17. Denies the allegations contained in paragraph 17 for

lack of knowledge or information sufficient to form a belief as to their truth. 18. Denies the allegations contained in paragraph 18 for

lack of knowledge or information sufficient to form a belief as to their truth. 19. Denies the allegations contained in paragraph 19 for

lack of knowledge or information sufficient to form a belief as to their truth, except admits that the search by the United States and its agents of the subject vehicle prior to the sale did not reveal the presence of marijuana or any other illegal substance. 20. The allegations contained in paragraph 20 constitute

conclusions of law and plaintiff's characterizations of his case,

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to which no response is required; to the extent they may be deemed allegations of fact, they are denied. 21. The allegations contained in paragraph 21 constitute

conclusions of law and plaintiff's characterizations of his case, to which no response is required; to the extent they may be deemed allegations of fact, they are denied. 22. 23. 24. 25. 26. 27. 28. Denies. Denies. Denies. Denies. Denies. Denies. The allegations contained in the first sentence of

paragraph 28 constitute conclusions of law, to which no response is required; to the extent they may be deemed allegations of fact, they are denied. Denies the remainder of the allegations

contained in paragraph 28. 29. Denies the allegations contained in paragraph 29,

except admits that the deposition transcript appears to be quoted accurately. 30. The allegations contained in paragraph 30 constitute

conclusions of law, to which no response is required; to the extent they may be deemed allegations of fact, they are denied.

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31.

The allegations contained in paragraph 31 constitute

conclusions of law, to which no response is required; to the extent they may be deemed allegations of fact, they are denied. 32. 33. 34. Admits. Denies. The allegations contained in the first sentence of

paragraph 34 constitute conclusions of law, to which no response is required; to the extent they may be deemed allegations of fact, they are denied. Admits the allegations contained in the

second sentence of paragraph 34 that defendant had control of the subject vehicle during the time between its seizure and sale to plaintiff. Denies the allegations contained in the third

sentence of paragraph 34 for lack of knowledge or information sufficient to form a belief as to their truth. 35. Denies the allegations contained in the first sentence Denies the allegations contained in the second

of paragraph 35.

sentence of paragraph 35 for lack of knowledge or information sufficient to form a belief as to their truth. 36. 37. Denies. The allegations contained in paragraph 37 constitute

conclusions of law, to which no response is required; to the extent they may be deemed allegations of fact, they are denied. 38. 39. Denies. Denies.

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40.

Denies the allegations contained in the first sentence Denies the allegations contained in the second

of paragraph 40.

sentence of paragraph 40 for lack of knowledge or information sufficient to form a belief as to their truth 41. 42. Denies. Admits the allegations contained in the first sentence Denies the allegations contained in the second

of paragraph 42.

sentence of paragraph 42, and avers that the agreement between the parties is reflected in several written documents, including the title document. 43. The allegations contained in paragraph 43 constitute

conclusions of law to which no response is required; to the extent they may be deemed allegations of fact, they are denied. 44. 45. 46. 47. 48. Denies. Denies. Denies. Denies. Denies the allegations contained in the first sentence Denies the allegations contained in the second

of paragraph 48.

sentence of paragraph 48 for lack of information or knowledge sufficient to form a belief as to its truth. 49. 50. Denies. Admits the allegations contained in the first sentence Denies the allegations contained in the second

of paragraph 50.

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sentence of paragraph 50, and avers that the agreement between the parties is reflected in several written documents, including the title document. 51. The allegations contained in paragraph 51 constitute

conclusions of law to which no response is required; to the extent they may be deemed allegations of fact, they are denied. 52. 53. 54. Denies. Denies. The allegations contained in the first sentence of

paragraph 54 constitute conclusions of law to which no response is required; to the extent they may be deemed allegations of fact, they are denied. Denies the remainder of the allegations

contained in paragraph 54. 55. 56. 57. Denies. Denies. Denies the allegations contained in paragraph 57,

except admits that the United States and its agents had exclusive control of the vehicle after the seizure and before the auction sale. 58. 59. Denies. The allegations contained in paragraph 59 constitute

conclusions of law, to which no response is required; to the extent they may be deemed allegations of fact, they are denied. 60. Denies.

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61. 62.

Denies. Denies the allegations contained in the first sentence Denies the allegations contained in the second

of paragraph 62.

sentence of paragraph 62 for lack of knowledge or information sufficient to form a belief as to their truth. 63. 64. Denies. Denies that plaintiff is entitled to the relief

requested in the "Wherefore" paragraph that follows paragraph 63 of the complaint or any relief whatsoever. 65. Denies each and every allegation not previously

admitted or otherwise qualified. WHEREFORE, defendant requests that the Court enter judgment in its favor, order that plaintiff's amended complaint be dismissed, and grant defendant such other and further relief as the Court may deem just and proper.

Respectfully submitted, PETER D. KEISLER Assistant Attorney General DAVID M. COHEN Director

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s/ PATRICIA M. McCARTHY PATRICIA M. McCARTHY Assistant Director

s/ PAUL R. WELLONS PAUL R. WELLONS Trial Attorney Commercial Litigation Branch Civil Division Department of Justice 1100 L Street, N.W. Attn: Classification Unit 8th Floor Washington, DC 20530 Tel. (202) 353-0527 Fax. (202) 305-2118 April 7, 2006 Attorneys for Defendant

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CERTIFICATE OF FILING I hereby certify that on April 7, 2006, a copy of the foregoing "DEFENDANT'S ANSWER" was filed electronically. I

understand that notice of this filing will be sent to all parties by operation of the Court's electronic filing system. may access this filing through the Court's system. Parties

s/ PAUL R. WELLONS