(a) Receipt of Funds
(1) No money shall be sent to the Court or its officers for deposit into
the Court's Registry without a court order by the Judge assigned to the case.
(2) Unless otherwise directed, all registry funds ordered to be paid into the
Court or received by its officers in any case pending or adjudicated shall 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.
(3) The party or attorney making the deposit or transferring funds to the
Court's Registry shall provide the order permitting the deposit or transfer on the Clerk of
Court, the Chief Deputy Clerk or Finance Manager.
(b) Investment of Registry Funds
(1) Where, by order of the Court, funds on deposit with the Court are to
be placed in some form of interest-bearing account or invested in a court-approved,
interest-bearing instrument in accordance with Rule 67 of the Federal Rules of Civil
Procedure, the Court Registry Investment System (“CRIS”), administered by the
Administrative Office of the United States Courts under 28 U.S.C. § 2045, shall be the
only investment mechanism authorized.
(2) Interpleader funds deposited under 28 U.S.C. § 1335 meet the IRS
definition of a “Disputed Ownership Fund” (DOF), a taxable entity that requires tax
administration. Unless otherwise ordered by the court, interpleader funds shall be
deposited in the DOF established within the CRIS and administered by the
Administrative Office of the United States Courts, which shall be responsible for meeting
all DOF tax administration requirements.
(3) The Director of Administrative Office of the United States Courts is
designated as custodian for all CRIS funds. The Director or the Director’s designee shall
perform the duties of custodian. Funds held in the CRIS remain subject to the control and
jurisdiction of the Court.
(4) Money from each case deposited in the CRIS shall be “pooled”
together with those on deposit with Treasury to the credit of other courts in the CRIS and
used to purchase Government Account Series securities through the Bureau of Public
Debt, which will be held at Treasury, in an account in the name and to the credit of the
Director of Administrative Office of the United States Courts. The pooled funds will be
invested in accordance with the principles of the CRIS Investment Policy as approved by
the Registry Monitoring Group.
(5) An account will be established in the CRIS Liquidity Fund titled in
the name of the case giving rise to the deposit invested in 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 after the
CRIS fee has been applied. 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.
(6) For each interpleader case, an account shall be established in the
CRIS Disputed Ownership Fund, titled in the name of the case giving rise to the deposit
invested in the fund. Income generated from fund investments will be distributed to each
case after the DOF fee has been applied and tax withholdings have been deducted from
the fund. Reports showing the interest earned and the principal amounts contributed in
each case will be available through the FedInvest/CMS application for each court
participating in the CRIS and made available to litigants and/or their counsel. On
appointment of an administrator authorized to incur expenses on behalf of the DOF in a
case, the case DOF funds should be transferred to another investment account as directed
by court order.
(c) Fees and Taxes
(1) The custodian is authorized and directed by this Order to deduct the
CRIS fee of an annualized 10 basis points on assets on deposit for all CRIS funds,
excluding the case funds held in the DOF, for the management of investments in the
CRIS. According to the Court’s Miscellaneous Fee Schedule, the CRIS fee is assessed
from interest earnings to the pool before a pro rata distribution of earnings is made to
court cases.1
(2) The custodian is authorized and directed by this Order to deduct the
DOF fee of annualized 20 basis points on assets on deposit in the DOF for management
of investments and tax administration. According to the Court’s Miscellaneous Fee
Schedule, the DOF fee is assessed from interest earnings to the pool before a pro rata
distribution of earnings is made to court cases. The custodian is further authorized and
directed by this Order to withhold and pay federal taxes due on behalf of the DOF.
