District Court Nixes Fight to Save Illegally Imported Land Rovers From Forfeiture
The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina on March 31 denied a bid from the owners of several Land Rovers to save their vehicles from forfeiture for import violations. CBP had seized the Land Rovers after finding their entry documentation falsely claimed the vehicles were old enough to qualify for exemptions from Environmental Protection Agency and Department of Transportation requirements. The owners of the vehicles argued that the forfeiture should not proceed because some of the vehicles are now old enough for the exemption. However, the court found that the customs law on forfeiture “does not accommodate vehicles that later ‘come into compliance’ due the passage of time.”
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The seizure stemmed from a CBP inspection of two Land Rovers imported by Patterson Auto Sales into the Port of Wilmington in 2012. According to entry documentation filed by Patterson’s customs broker, the vehicles were 1983 and 1986 Land Rover Defender 110s, old enough to qualify for the exemption from emissions rules for vehicles that are at least 21 years old, and the exception from motor vehicle safety rules for vehicles that are at least 25 years old. The EPA and DOT forms associated with the shipment stated accordingly. However, a CBP officer thought some features of the Land Rovers looked newer. CBP forwarded over pictures and other information to DOT, which in turn consulted Land Rover North America, and was told that major parts of the vehicle, like the engine, chassis and rear axle, were manufactured between 1997 and 2006.
The discrepancy led to a more thorough review of vehicles imported by Patterson. CBP sent a list of 110 Vehicle Information Numbers (VINs) to a safety compliance manager at Land Rover North America. Early in 2013, the agency heard back that 51 of the Land Rovers were not old enough to qualify for either the EPA or DOT exemption, and seized the vehicles. The government filed a forfeiture complaint in January 2014.
The owners of the vehicles argued that the government’s forfeiture lawsuit for some of the vehicles is moot because the vehicles are now over 25 years old and qualify for both the DOT and EPA exemptions. But the District Court said 19 USC 1595a(c)(2)(A) is clear in allowing seizure or forfeiture of merchandise that does not comply with import regulations, with no exception for merchandise that has come into compliance in the meantime. To rule otherwise “would encourage the illegal importation of non-conforming, non-excepted vehicles in the hopes that CBP or other authorities would be unable to discover the violations until after the vehicles had reached twenty-five years of age.”
(U.S. v. Land Rover Vehicles, E.D.N.C. 5:14-CV-34, dated 03/31/15, Judge Fox)
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