United States v. American Black Bears

MEMORANDUM ***

Joseph Therrien appeals the District Court’s default judgment of forfeiture against two black bears and a trailer belonging to Therrien that appear to have been used in an attempt to smuggle marihuana into the United States. Therrien filed a claim of interest in the bears and the trailer, asserting that he owned the defendant property through his capacity as sole owner and director of Action Animals, a company that trains animals to act in film and video productions. Therrien asserted that an Action Animals employee had been driving the bears from Canada to the United States to be involved in a film production when the drags were discovered. He further claimed that he had no knowledge of the driver’s intent to bring drugs into the United States and was thus entitled to the return of the bears and trailer because he was an “innocent owner” of the property.

The government, seeking to rebut Therrien’s innocent owner defense by demonstrating that he was either involved in, or had knowledge of, the drag conspiracy, sought discovery on the bears’ allegedly legitimate trips to the United States. Therrien did not produce any discovery until the District Court, on February…