(a) Receipt of Funds.
(1) Unless an applicable statute requires the deposit of funds without leave of court,
no funds governed by Fed. R. Civ. P. 67 shall be tendered to the court or the clerk’s
office for deposit into the court’s registry absent a court order signed by a judge. Any
party filing a motion to deposit funds into the court’s registry shall also submit a
proposed order.
(2) Unless otherwise provided for elsewhere herein, all funds received by the court
or the clerk’s office for any case pending or in the process of adjudication 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. Such deposits shall be made through depositories
designated by the Treasury to accept such deposits on its behalf.
(3) Except as provided in subsection (b)(2) below, the party making the deposit or
transferring funds to the court’s registry shall electronically serve the order permitting
the deposit or transfer on the clerk of court or, in the clerk’s absence, upon the chief
deputy clerk or financial administrator.
(b) Investment of Registry Funds.
(1) Court Registry Investment System.
(A) Unless otherwise ordered, the Court Registry Investment System (CRIS),
administered through the Administrative Office of the United States Courts, shall
be the investment mechanism authorized.
(B) Internal Revenue Service (IRS) regulations require special handling for
“Disputed Ownership Funds” (DOF), as defined in 26 CFR § 1.468B-9 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.
(C) 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.
(D) Under CRIS, monies deposited in each case will be “pooled” together with
those on deposit with the Treasury to the credit of other courts in CRIS and used
to purchase Government Account Series securities through the Bureau of the
Fiscal Service, which will be held at the Treasury in an account in the name and
to the credit of the Director of Administrative Office of the United States Courts,
hereby designated custodian for CRIS. The pooled funds will be invested in
accordance with the principles of the CRIS Investment Policy as approved by the
Registry Monitoring Group.
(i) For non-DOF case funds, 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.
(ii) For DOF case funds, 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 based on the ratio each account's principal
and earnings has to the aggregate principal and income after the DOF fee
has been applied and tax withholdings have been deducted from the fund.
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 the
CRIS Liquidity Fund or another investment account as directed by court
order.
(E) Reports showing the interest earned and the principal amounts contributed in
each case will be available through the FedInvest/CMS application and will be
made available to litigants and/or their counsel.
(2) Other Investments and Instruments. Upon motion, the court in its discretion
may approve an investment mechanism other than CRIS. Prior to filing the motion, the
party requesting approval of an alternate investment mechanism shall first personally
deliver the proposed order to the clerk, chief deputy or financial administrator, who shall
review the proposed order to confirm it fulfills investment requirements.
A motion to approve an alternate investment mechanism must, at a minimum, address the
following:
(A) the amount to be invested;
(B) a designation of the type of account or instrument in which the funds shall be
invested;
(C) the name of the depository, which must be approved by the Treasurer of the
United States as a depository in which funds may be held;
(D) the form of additional collateral to cover the entire amount of invested funds
without regard to FDIC insurance;
(E) a direction to the clerk to deduct from the income earned on the investment a
fee not exceeding that authorized by the Judicial Conference of the United
States and set by the Director of the Administrative Office of the United
States Courts as published in the Federal Register; and
(F) such other appropriate information that may be deemed applicable under the
facts and circumstances of the particular case.
Upon court order to deposit and invest registry funds locally, the clerk shall serve as
custodian of the account or financial instrument and shall keep such account, certificate
of deposit, or financial instrument in a secure and safe place subject to further order of
the court.
(c) Investment Fees and Taxes.
(1) The custodian is authorized and directed 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.
(2) The custodian is authorized and directed to deduct the DOF fee of an 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 rule to
withhold and pay federal taxes due on behalf of the DOF.
(3) In cases in which funds are ultimately disbursed to the United States or to
agencies or officials thereof, the clerk shall provide to those agencies or officials any
relief from the CRIS fees approved by the Director of the Administrative Office on
application filed by the United States Attorney or any other government counsel.
(d) Cash Bail. If cash bail in an amount in excess of $10,000 is deposited with the court, it
may be placed in an interest-bearing account upon motion of the submitting party. The
deposit shall comply in all respects with the requirements of this rule except that there shall be
no administration fee assessed.
(§§ (a)(2)-(4), (b)(1)-(2) and (c)(1)-(3) amended 12/1/11; § (c) amended 11/17/16; amended
generally 4/1/2017; § (b)(1)(D) amended 12/1/19; §§ (b)(1)(B) and (c)(3) amended 12/1/21; §
(a)(1) amended 12/1/23)
