UNPUBLISHED UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT

No. 95-3187

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Plaintiff - Appellee, versus WILLIAM DON RODGERS, Claimant - Appellant, and ONE 1985 CHEVROLET CORVETTE, Vin 1G1YY0780F5125589, Defendant.

Appeal from the United States District Court for the Middle Dis- trict of North Carolina, at Winston-Salem. James A. Beaty, Jr., District Judge. (CA-94-243-CV-6) Submitted: December 3, 1996 Decided: December 20, 1996

Before WIDENER, NIEMEYER, and MICHAEL, Circuit Judges.

Dismissed by unpublished per curiam opinion.

William Don Rodgers, Appellant Pro Se. Gill Paul Beck, OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES ATTORNEY, Greensboro, North Carolina, for Appellee.

Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit.

See Local Rule 36(c).

PER CURIAM: William Don Rodgers appeals from the district court's decision ordering the civil forfeiture of a 1985 Chevrolet Corvette under 21 U.S.C. § 881(a) (1994). The Government claims the appeal is moot because it has agreed to dismiss the forfeiture action and release the property to an innocent lien holder. Rodgers did not respond to the Government's claim, but conceded the lien holder's right to the vehicle. Accordingly, while we grant Rodgers leave to proceed in forma pauperis on appeal, we dismiss this appeal as moot. See Nakell v. Attorney Gen. of North Carolina, 15 F.3d 319, 322 (4th Cir. 1994). We dispense with oral argument because the facts and legal contentions are adequately presented in the material before the court and argument would not aid the decisional process.

DISMISSED