151743P.pdf   06/06/2016  United States  v.  Laura Barraza
   U.S. Court of Appeals Case No:  15-1743
   U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri - St. Louis   
   [PUBLISHED] [Loken, Author, with Gruender and Kelly, Circuit Judges] 
   Civil case - Forfeiture. The district court did not abuse its discretion 
   by striking the business entity's claims to the forfeited funds after the 
   entity repeatedly failed to comply with orders that its corporate 
   treasurer and secretary appear for discovery depositions; despite repeated 
   notices, the officers willfully and deliberately failed to attend the 
   depositions and dismissal, while a harsh Rule 37 sanction, is appropriate 
   where parties engage in bad faith conduct; dismissal of the claims was not 
   a punishment subject to the Eighth Amendment's Excessive Fines Clause; the 
   district court erred in dismissing claimant Barraza's claim for lack of 
   standing as she had standing to assert an "innocent owner" affirmative 
   defense and a claim that the funds, themselves, were innocent; however, 
   the court did not err in granting the government summary judgment on 
   claimant Barraza's innocent owner defense as she could not show she was 
   the owner of the funds as the company, in its corporate capacity, 
   possessed legal title and total control of the funds; as a result, Barraza 
   had only a general, unsecured interest in the corporate property and was 
   without an ownership interest under 18 U.S.C. Sec. 983(d)(6)(b)(i); 
   Barraza does not challenge the court's conclusion that the funds were drug 
   trafficking proceeds and any argument that the funds were innocent, and 
   not subject to forfeiture, has been waived.