Producer Loses Appeal Over $1 Million Seized During Traffic Stop

A man alleging law enforcement improperly seized $1.1 million in cash from him during a traffic stop in Nevada can’t revive his claim to recover the funds, the Ninth Circuit said Tuesday.

The district court didn’t abuse its discretion when it struck Oak Porcelli’s claim because he failed to fully respond to the government’s interrogatories, the court said.

The government bears the ultimate burden of proving by a preponderance of the evidence that the money seized was subject to forfeiture, but Porcelli still had a discovery obligation under the rules of civil procedure to produce some evidence that he had ...