Statute of Limitations in Forfeiture Cases

If your property was seized for forfeiture, you should act quickly to retain an experienced attorney. Your attorney must act quickly to preserve evidence (including any surveillance video of the detention or seizure) and file a claim for court action within 35 days of the issuance of the notice of seizure.

The Civil Asset Forfeiture Reform Act of 2000 (CAFRA) imposes other statutory deadlines in forfeiture cases, including:

• a 60 day deadline to issue a notice of seizure to all interested parties; and
• a 90 day deadline to file a complaint for forfeiture after the demand for court action is filed; and
• a five-year statute of limitations deadline to initiate the process.

This article discusses the statute of limitations in federal civil asset forfeiture cases.

Attorneys on Statute of Limitations in Forfeiture Cases

The attorneys at Sammis Law Firm represent clients in civil asset forfeiture actions in federal court. Contact us to discuss how the five (5) year statute of limitations for civil asset forfeiture actions might impact your case.

We can help you assert affirmative defenses, including a claim that you are an innocent owner of the seized property or that it was illegally seized. Visit our offices in downtown Tampa in Hillsborough County, New Port Richey in Pasco County, and Clearwater in Pinellas County, FL.

The attorneys at Sammis Law Firm represent clients in civil asset forfeiture cases throughout the greater Tampa Bay area and the rest of Florida. We often work with attorneys in other jurisdictions as co-counsel to fight these cases throughout the United States. Even if we can’t take your case, we might be able to point you in the right direction.

Call 813-250-0500.

What if the government takes too long to begin the seizure process?

Federal law has long recognized that the statutes of limitation that bar the rights of the government must receive strict construction. See E.I. Du Pont De Nemours & Co. v. Davis, 264 U.S. 456, 462, 44 S.Ct. 364, 366, 68 L.Ed. 788 (1924).

Under the plain language of §1621, the legislative intent in a traceable proceeds case is to give the government five (5) years after it discovers that property is tainted by its purchase with drug proceeds to commence a civil in rem forfeiture action against the property. In other words, the civil forfeiture statute requires that an action be filed within five years after the alleged offense that gives rise to the forfeiture was discovered.

In Gabelli v. SEC, 133 S.Ct. 1216 (2013), the United States Supreme Court concluded that the five-year statute of limitations in 28 U.S.C. § 2462, applies to actions for penalties, fines, and forfeitures. The five-year statute of limitations for forfeiture actions begins to run when a violation is complete rather than when it is later discovered.

For the institution of an action to seize substitute assets under 18 U.S.C. §984, the applicable statute of limitations is one year. United States v. Estate of Parsons, 367 F.3d 409 (5th Cir. 2004).

If you want to set aside a declaration of forfeiture because you did not receive notice, be aware that CAFRA requires the “motion to set aside the declaration of forfeiture” to be filed no later than five years after the date of final publication of the notice of seizure. See 18 U.S.C. § 983(e).

Tolling of the Statute of Limitations for Forfeiture Actions

The statute of limitations is tolled during any period of concealment. The tolling provision enables the government to file a civil forfeiture action when it learns or discovers the involvement or purchase of the property with drug proceeds.

If the § 1621 limitations period were not tolled until the government discovers the drug-tainted nature of the property, then a convicted drug trafficker would be rewarded by succeeding in his efforts to conceal the fruits of his criminal drug activities.

When the statute of limitations is asserted as a bar to pursuing a forfeiture case, the court must determine when the alleged offense actually occurred, although the government might argue that it is the discovery of the “the alleged offense” that matters.

In a traceable proceeds case, this knowledge of the connection or link of drug proceeds to the subject property might commence the running of the five-year limitations period.

Under 19 U.S.C. 1621, the government might argue the statute of limitations in a federal seizure case is the latter of either:

• two (2) years from the date that the involvement of the property in the alleged offense was discovered; or
• five (5) years from the date of discovery of the violation.

When the property subject to forfeiture is absent from the country, that time might not be counted in the statutory period of limitation.

This article was last updated on Thursday, January 30, 2025.