Columbus, OH – On Thursday, The Buckeye Institute filed an amicus brief in United States v. Ross, urging the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit to prevent the government from exploiting the Civil Asset Forfeiture Reform Act to avoid paying attorneys’ fees when it loses in court.
“The government cannot be allowed to seize someone’s property and then, when it realizes it is going to lose, ask the court to dismiss its case to avoid paying attorneys’ fees,” said David C. Tryon, director of litigation at The Buckeye Institute. “Mr. Ross won his case by any understanding of the word won, and the lower court wrongly denied him attorneys’ fees.”
The government compelled Mr. Ross to navigate the civil-forfeiture process, resulting in significant attorneys’ fees. When the government recognized its case lacked merit, it sought a voluntary dismissal. Given that Mr. Ross substantially prevailed and had all his property returned, he should have been awarded attorneys’ fees as mandated by the Civil Asset Forfeiture Reform Act.
Tryon added, “If the lower court ruling is not reversed, it will have given the government a roadmap on how to evade the very penalties that the Civil Asset Forfeiture Reform Act was enacted to impose.”
The Rutherford Institute joined The Buckeye Institute in filing the brief. Joel S. Nolette, an associate at Wiley Rein LLP, is counsel of record on this brief.