U.S. v. Funds in the amount of $100,120

Dist. Ct. erred in granting govt.’s motion for summary judgment in civil forfeiture proceeding, alleging that $100,120 in defendant’s briefcase that DEA agent seized after dog alerted agent to recent presence of drugs was either proceeds of illegal drug transaction or was intended to facilitate such transaction. Defendant’s affidavit, although self-serving, was sufficient to create triable issue as to whether said cash could have been legally obtained by defendant, where defendant claimed that said cash had been generated through life-time of savings in expense-free environment. Moreover, testimony from defendant’s expert witness created triable issue as to whether dog’s training was sufficient to demonstrate that dog’s alert was reliable evidence that subject cash had recently been in contact with illegal drugs.