United States v. $4,480,466.16 in Funds Seized from Bank of America Account Ending in 2653, No. 18-10801 (5th Cir. 2019)
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The Fifth Circuit denied a petition for panel rehearing and withdrew its prior opinion, substituting the following opinion.
At issue was whether a claimant in a civil forfeiture proceeding may counterclaim for constitutional tort damages against the United States. The district court adopted the First Circuit's reasoning and held that a claimant may never file counterclaims of any kind.
The court affirmed the district court's judgment, dismissing the counterclaims for a different reason. The court found the First Circuit's reasoning unpersuasive and declined to adopt it. Rather, the court held that the United States has not waived sovereign immunity for claims seeking damages based on alleged Fourth and Fifth Amendment violations arising from the property seizure.
This opinion or order relates to an opinion or order originally issued on August 22, 2019.
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