Summary
affirming denial of 41(g) motion on ground that 983(e) governed and the five year statute of limitations barred the claim
Summary of this case from United States v. WilliamsOpinion
No. 06-2652.
Submitted: June 8, 2007.
Filed: July 23, 2007.
Appeal from the United States District Court for the Western District of Arkansas.
Kenneth P. Elser, Charles E. Smith, and Mark W. Webb, Assistant U.S. Attorneys, David R. Ferguson, U.S. Attorney's Office, Fort Smith, AR, for Appellee.
Antonio Triplett, Texarkana, TX, pro se.
Before COLLOTON, BEAM, and BENTON, Circuit Judges.
[UNPUBLISHED]
Antonio Triplett appeals the district court's order denying his motion for return of seized property under Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 41(g). Because Triplett's property was seized in September 2000, his action was subject to the provisions of the Civil Asset Forfeiture Reform Act of 2000 (CAFRA), Pub.L. No. 106-185, 114 Stat. 202, codified in part at 18 U.S.C. § 983, which applies to forfeiture actions initiated after August 23, 2000. See Mesa Valderrama v. United States, 417 F.3d 1189, 1195 (11th Cir. 2005). Under CAFRA, a person who does not receive notice in a nonjudicial civil forfeiture may move to set aside the forfeiture, but such motion must be filed within 5 years after the date of final publication of the seizure notice, and is the exclusive remedy to set aside a declaration of forfeiture. See 18 U.S.C. § 983(e). Triplett's action, filed more than 5 years after the date of final publication in the Wall Street Journal on November 20, 2000, is time-barred. See 18 U.S.C. § 983(e)(3). Accordingly, we affirm.
The Honorable Robert T. Dawson, United States District Judge for the Western District of Arkansas.