Opinion ID: 765595
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: The Cold Room.

Text: 19 After receiving a tip that the fire department had failed to locate some hazardous materials hidden in a cold room within the warehouse, fire department and county officials returned to the warehouse. Upon finding the cold room, they discovered that they could not enter it. Peter Bishop, an independent contractor employed by West Coast to assist in the cleanup of the warehouse, got a key from Fiorillo and helpedthe officials gain entry into the cold room where they discovered the leaky containers of Eclipse and Slurry. When Bishop asked Fiorillo for a key, one of the officials overheard Fiorillo indicate to Bishop that there was nothing in the room, that he had been cooperative and that he had had enough. Only after officials had entered the room did they learn Krueger leased the room from Fiorillo. The district court held that the warrantless search of the cold room was valid because Fiorillo had apparent authority to consent to the search. We agree. 20 A determination of apparent authority presents mixed questions of fact and law and is reviewed de novo. See United States v. Kim, 105 F.3d 1579, 1581 (9th Cir.), cert. denied, 118 S. Ct. 353 (1997). 21 The existence of apparent authority entails a threepart analysis. First, did the searching officer believe some untrue fact that was then used to assess the consent-giver's use of and access to or control over the area searched? Second, was it under the circum stances objectively reasonable to believe that the fact was true? Finally, assuming the truth of the reasonably believed but untrue fact, would the consentgiver have had actual authority? 22 United States v. Dearing, 9 F.3d 1428, 1429-30 (9th Cir. 1993) (citations omitted). 23 The officials seeking entrance to the cold room believed that it was simply part of the warehouse leased to West Coast. There were no signs on the doors to indicate that the room was being leased to or under the control of SafeWaste. They believed that Fiorillo, as president of West Coast, could consent to let them into a locked room that they believed was under the control of his company. They had no reason to believe and in fact did not believe that Krueger leased the room from West Coast. 24 Under the circumstances, it was reasonable for the officials to believe these incorrect facts were true. Fiorillo gave a key to the room to Bishop with the knowledge that it was to let the inspecting officials into the room. At that time, he could have informed the officials that the room was leased to Krueger and that he could not let them in. For some unknown reason, Fiorillo chose not to tell the officials that Krueger leased the room until after they had entered the room and discovered the hazardous products. It was not unreasonable for the officials to believe that Fiorillo could consent to let them search the room when he, as president of the company running the warehouse of which the cold room was a part, provided the key for them to enter. 25 If it was true that West Coast had exclusive control over the cold room and that the room was not leased to Krueger,Fiorillo as president of West Coast would have had actual authority to consent to the search of the cold room. The district court did not err in determining that the officials correctly relied on Fiorillo's apparent authority to consent to the search of the cold room.