28 U.S.C. § 2416 — Time for commencing actions brought by

Page 610 TITLE 28—JUDICIARY AND JUDICIAL PROCEDURE § 2416 1 So in original. ‘‘(b) Any right of action on claims covered by such legislation or report shall be barred unless the com- plaint is filed within 3 years after the date of submis- sion of such legislation or legislative report to Con- gress.’’ LEGISLATIVE PROPOSALS RESPECTING APPROPRIATENESS OF RESOLUTION BY LITIGATION OF UNRESOLVED IN- DIAN CLAIMS Pub. L. 96–217, § 2, Mar. 27, 1980, 94 Stat. 126, provided that: ‘‘Not later than June 30, 1981, the Secretary of the Interior, after consultation with the Attorney General, shall submit to the Congress legislative proposals to re- solve those Indian claims subject to the amendments made by the first section of this Act [amending this section] that the Secretary of the Interior or the Attor- ney General believes are not appropriate to resolve by litigation.’’ § 2416. Time for commencing actions brought by the United States—Exclusions For the purpose of computing the limitations periods established in section 2415, there shall be excluded all periods during which— (a) the defendant or the res is outside the United States, its territories and possessions, the District of Columbia, or the Common- wealth of Puerto Rico; or (b) the defendant is exempt from legal proc- ess because of infancy, mental incompetence, diplomatic immunity, or for any other reason; or (c) facts material to the right of action are not known and reasonably could not be known by an official of the United States charged with the responsibility to act in the cir- cumstances; or (d) the United States is in a state of war de- clared pursuant to article I, section 8, of the Constitution of the United States. (Added Pub. L. 89–505, § 1, July 18, 1966, 80 Stat. 305.) CHAPTER 163—FINES, PENALTIES AND FORFEITURES Sec. 2461. Mode of recovery. 2462. Time for commencing proceedings. 2463. Property taken under revenue law not re- pleviable. 2464. Security; special bond. 2465. Return of property to claimant; liability for wrongful seizure; attorney fees, costs, and interest. 2466. Fugitive disentitlement. 2467. Enforcement of foreign judgment. Editorial Notes AMENDMENTS 2000—Pub. L. 106–185, §§ 4(b), 14(b), 15(b), Apr. 25, 2000, 114 Stat. 213, 219, 221, substituted ‘‘Return of property to claimant; liability for wrongful seizure; attorney fees, costs, and interest’’ for ‘‘Return of property to claimant; certificate of reasonable cause; liability for wrongful seizure’’ in item 2465 and added items 2466 and 2467. § 2461. Mode of recovery (a) Whenever a civil fine, penalty or pecuniary forfeiture is prescribed for the violation of an Act of Congress without specifying the mode of recovery or enforcement thereof, it may be re- covered in a civil action. (b) Unless otherwise provided by Act of Con- gress, whenever a forfeiture of property is pre- scribed as a penalty for violation of an Act of Congress and the seizure takes place on the high seas or on navigable waters within the admi- ralty and maritime jurisdiction of the United States, such forfeiture may be enforced by libel in admiralty but in cases of seizures on land the forfeiture may be enforced by a proceeding by libel which shall conform as near as may be to proceedings in admiralty. (c) If a person is charged in a criminal case with a violation of an Act of Congress for which the civil or criminal forfeiture of property is au- thorized, the Government may include notice of the forfeiture in the indictment or information pursuant to the Federal Rules of Criminal Pro- cedure. If the defendant is convicted of the of- fense giving rise to the forfeiture, the court shall order the forfeiture of the property as part of the sentence in the criminal case pursuant to to 1 the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure and section 3554 of title 18, United States Code. The procedures in section 413 of the Controlled Sub- stances Act (21 U.S.C. 853) apply to all stages of a criminal forfeiture proceeding, except that subsection (d) of such section applies only in cases in which the defendant is convicted of a violation of such Act. (June 25, 1948, ch. 646, 62 Stat. 974; Pub. L. 106–185, § 16, Apr. 25, 2000, 114 Stat. 221; Pub. L. 109–177, title IV, § 410, Mar. 9, 2006, 120 Stat. 246.) HISTORICAL AND REVISION NOTES Subsection (a) was drafted to clarify a serious ambi- guity in existing law and is based upon rulings of the Supreme Court. Numerous sections in the United States Code prescribe civil fines, penalties, and pecu- niary forfeitures for violation of certain sections with- out specifying the mode of recovery or enforcement thereof. See, for example, section 567 of title 12, U.S.C., 1940 ed., Banks and Banking, section 64 of title 14, U.S.C., 1940 ed., Coast Guard, and section 180 of title 25, U.S.C., 1940 ed., Indians. Compare section 1 (21) of title 49, U.S.C., 1940 ed., Transportation. A civil fine, penalty, or pecuniary forfeiture is recov- erable in a civil action. United States ex rel. Marcus v. Hess et al., 1943, 63 S.Ct. 379, 317 U.S. 537, 87 L.Ed. 433, rehearing denied 63 S.Ct. 756, 318 U.S. 799, 87 L.Ed. 1163; Hepner v. United States, 1909, 29 S.Ct. 474, 213 U.S. 103, 53 L.Ed. 720, and cases cited therein. Forfeiture of bail bonds in criminal cases are enforce- able by procedure set out in Rule 46 of the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure. If the statute contemplates a criminal fine, it can only be recovered in a criminal proceeding under the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure, after a convic- tion. The collection of civil fines and penalties, how- ever, may not be had under the Federal Rules of Crimi- nal Procedure, Rule 54(b)(5), but enforcement of a criminal fine imposed in a criminal case may be had by execution on the judgment rendered in such case, as in civil actions. (See section 569 of title 18, U.S.C., 1940 ed., Crimes and Criminal Procedure, incorporated in sec- tion 3565 of H.R. 1600, 80th Congress, for revision of the Criminal Code. See also Rule 69 of Federal Rules of Civil Procedure and Advisory Committee Note there- under, as to execution in civil actions.) Subsection (b) was drafted to cover the subject of for- feiture of property generally. Sections in the United States Code specifically providing a mode of enforce- ment of forfeiture of property for their violation and other procedural matters will, of course, govern and