Opinion ID: 203518
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Search of Storage Locker

Text: The defendant contends that the district court erred in denying his Fourth Amendment challenge of the search of his storage locker. We review the district court's legal conclusions de novo and its factual findings for clear error. United States v. Lawlor, 406 F.3d 37, 41 (1st Cir.2005). To successfully challenge a search on Fourth Amendment grounds, the defendant must show that he had a subjective expectation of privacy in the place searched that is accepted by society as objectively reasonable. Smith v. Maryland, 442 U.S. 735, 740, 99 S.Ct. 2577, 61 L.Ed.2d 220 (1979); United States v. Cardona-Sandoval, 6 F.3d 15, 20 (1st Cir. 1993). When evaluating whether a person has a reasonable expectation of privacy, courts examine a variety of factors, such as ownership of the premises, possession, access or control, ability to control or exclude others, and legitimate presence on the premises at the time of the search. Cardona-Sandoval, 6 F.3d at 21. In holding that the defendant did not have a protected Fourth Amendment right in the storage locker, the district court relied on United States v. Melucci, 888 F.2d 200, 202 (1st Cir.1989). In Melucci, this court held that a defendant did not have a reasonable expectation of privacy in his rented storage unit after he had failed to make multiple rental payments and the storage facility operator had taken possession of the unit by removing the defendants lock. Id. at 202. Other courts have held that individuals do not have standing to challenge a search of their rented storage locker based on similar facts. In United States v. Poulsen, the Ninth Circuit held that a defendant did not have a reasonable expectation of privacy in his storage locker when he defaulted on rental payments. 41 F.3d 1330, 1336-37 (9th Cir.1994). The facility operator had a lien on the contents of the storage space under both the express terms of the rental agreement and California law. The court reasoned that the defendant lost his right of access to the space due to the lien, and thus no longer had a reasonable expectation of privacy. Likewise, in United States v. Abiodun, the court held that a defendant lost his reasonable expectation of privacy in a rented storage space when the facility operator imposed a lien, scheduled a public auction for the contents of the space, and removed the lessee's lock to allow government agents to conduct a search after the defendant defaulted on rental payments. No. 04-CR-1316 (D.C.) 2005 WL 3117305 at  (S.D.N.Y. Nov. 22, 2005). We agree with the district court that the defendant lacked a reasonable expectation of privacy in the storage space at the time of the search. Testimony at trial established that the defendant had failed to pay rent on the storage locker for several months, and that the storage facility operator had a lien on the contents of the locker, had scheduled a public auction, and had removed the lock on the space to permit the government agents to search the storage area. Although a persons reasonable expectation of privacy is not defined by arcane distinctions developed in property and tort law, Rakas v. Illinois, 439 U.S. 128, 143, 99 S.Ct. 421, 58 L.Ed.2d 387 (1978), the right to access the area searched is an important factor in the analysis. See Rawlings v. Kentucky, 448 U.S. 98, 105, 100 S.Ct. 2556, 65 L.Ed.2d 633 (1980). Under both Massachusetts law and the facility's rental policy, the defendant lacked the right to access the rented space. Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 105A, § 3 permits a storage facility operator to impose a lien on the contents of a storage space when the lessee defaults on rent. Section 5 further provides that: If an occupant is in default for a period of five days or more, the operator may deny the occupant access to the leased space in a reasonable and peaceable manner; provided however, that the occupant may have access at any time for the sole purpose of viewing the contents of his leased space in order to verify the contents therein. Even apart from the provisions of Chapter 105A, the storage facility had a contractual right to exclude the defendant from the storage space. Trial testimony established that under the storage facility's rental policy, the manager of the facility had the right to lock the defendant out of the rented space if rent is more than five days overdue, and the storage facility treats a locker as abandoned if rent is 60 days past due. Having lost his right of access, the defendant did not have a reasonable expectation of privacy in the storage space and lacked standing to challenge the search. Defendant contends that his situation is distinguishable from Melucci and similar cases because, although his rent payments were overdue, he did not intend to abandon the space. He argues that he was unable to make rental payments after he was incarcerated, and that he contacted the storage facility manager to apprise him of his situation. He contends that the lessee in Melucci not only failed to pay rent, but also did not contact the facility operator and thus intended to abandon the space. This attempt to distinguish Melucci is unconvincing. Regardless of the reason why the defendant could not continue to pay rent and his attempts to contact the storage facility operator, there is no evidence that the storage facility agreed to make any accommodation on account of the defendants incarceration. Even if the defendant subjectively did not intend to abandon the locker after failing to pay rent, such a belief is objectively unreasonable and does not allow the defendant to challenge the search on Fourth Amendment grounds. Defendant also points to Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 105A § 7, which provides that except as otherwise provided herein or as stated in the rental agreement, the exclusive care, custody and control of all property in the leased self-service space shall vest in the occupant until a lien sale under the provisions of this chapter. He argues that under this provision, he had a reasonable expectation of privacy in the locker until the auction, which was set to occur on May 17, 2006, one day after the agents searched the locker. This argument is also unavailing. While § 7 states that a lessee has custody and control of belongings stored, it also provides that the lessees rights are limited by other provisions of Chapter 105A and the terms of the rental contract. As noted above, both § 5 and the terms of the storage facility policy allow the storage facility operator to exclude a lessee who fails to pay rent. In light of the limitations on the defendants right to control access to the storage locker, it is clear that defendants reasonable expectation of privacy did not continue up until the time the lien sale.