F!LEO
U.S. DlSTRICT courn
otSTR!Cl LF ''YOM!NG
2017 AUG 15 PH 4: 10
IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
STEPilhli dAi RI S, CLERK
FOR THE DISTRICT OF WYOMING
CHEYENNE
Administrative General Order 2017-05 GENERAL ORDER REGARDING
DEPOSIT AND INVESTMENT OF
REGISTRY FUNDS
The Court, having determined that it is necessary to adopt local procedures to
ensure uniformity in the deposit, investment, and tax administration of funds in the
Court' s Registry,
IT IS ORDERED that the following shall govern the receipt, deposit, and
investment of Registry funds:
I. Receipt of Funds
A. No money shall be sent to the Court or its officers for deposit in the Court ' s
registry without a court order signed by the presiding judge in the case or
proceeding.
B. The party making the deposit or transferring funds to the Court's registry shall
serve the order permitting the deposit or transfer on the Clerk of Court.
C. Unless provided for elsewhere in this Order, all monies ordered to be paid to
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. § 2014 through depositories designated by
the Treasury to accept such deposit on its behalf.
II. Investment of Registry funds
A. 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.
B. 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.
C. The Director of Administrative Office of the United States Courts is
designated as custodian of 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. 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.
E. 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 principle 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.
F. 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.
III. Fees and Taxes
A. 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.
B. The custodian is authorized and directed by this Order 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 Order
to withhold and pay federal taxes due on behalf of the DOF.
IV. Transition From Former Investment Procedure
A. The Clerk of Court is further directed to develop a systematic method of
redemption of all existing investments and their transfer to the CRIS.
B. Deposits to the CRIS DOF will not be transferred from any existing CRIS
Funds. Only new deposits pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1335 from the effective
date of this order will be placed in the CRIS DOF.
C. Parties not wishing to transfer certain existing registry deposits into the
CRIS may seek leave to transfer them to the litigants or their designees on
proper motion and approval of the judge assigned to the specific case.
D. This Order supersedes and abrogates all prior orders of this Court regarding
the deposit and investment of Registry Funds.
E. This order is effective on the date of entry.
Dated this 15th day of August, 2017.
Chief Judge
