1845. Forfeiture action with respect to alcoholic beverages and vehicles carrying such beverages. (a) Temporary seizure. Whenever a police officer designated in section 1.20 of the criminal procedure law or a peace officer designated in subdivision four of section 2.10 of such law, acting pursuant to his special duties, shall discover more than ninety liters of liquors which are being imported for sale or use in the state, where the person importing or causing such liquors to be imported is not registered as a distributor under section four hundred twenty-one of this chapter, such police officer or peace officer is hereby authorized to seize and take possession of such liquors, and to seize and take possession of the vehicle or other means of transportation used to transport such liquors.
(b) Retention of property. The department shall hold and safely keep such liquors, vehicle or other means of transportation seized pursuant to subdivision (a) of this section. Seized liquors may be deposited to the credit of the department at a storage facility within the state or may be sold by the department.
(c) Confirmation of temporary seizure. Within five business days after the temporary seizure of liquors, vehicle or other means of transportation pursuant to subdivision (a) of this section, the department shall move in supreme court in the county where the temporary seizure occurred, on such notice as the court shall direct to the owners of the property, to confirm the temporary seizure. If the department fails to make such motion within the required period, such seized property shall be restored to the owners thereof as provided in subdivision (e) of this section. On a motion for an order confirming the seizure, the department shall show, by affidavit and such other written evidence as may be submitted, that there is a cause of action for forfeiture under subdivision (d) of this section and that there are grounds for confirmation of the seizure. The department shall include, in its motion papers, an inventory of all seized property. The court shall grant an application for an order confirming the seizure when it determines that there is a substantial probability that the department will prevail on the issue of forfeiture.
(d) Forfeiture action. (1) A forfeiture action shall be commenced within forty-five days from the date of the seizure. Such action shall be commenced and service shall be made in accordance with the methods authorized by the civil practice law and rules or the business corporation law. Upon such terms as may be just and upon good cause shown, the court may extend the time, not exceeding thirty days, within which the summons must be served, provided that the application for extentions made before the expiration of the time fixed. If the department fails to commence the forfeiture action within the required period, such seized property shall be restored to the owners thereof as provided in subdivision (e) of this section.
(2) A forfeiture action under this subdivision shall be commenced in supreme court. The proper venue for trial of an action for forfeiture is the county in which the temporary seizure authorized by subdivision (a) of this section occurred.
(3) Forfeiture of liquors together with the vehicle or other means of transportation used to transport such liquors shall be adjudged where the department proves, by clear and convincing evidence, that the person importing or causing such liquors to be imported was not registered as a distributor under section four hundred twenty-one of this chapter. All defendants in a forfeiture action brought pursuant to this article shall have the right to trial by jury on any issue of fact.
(4) The court in which a forfeiture action is pending may dismiss said action in the interests of justice upon an application as provided for herein.
(A) At any time during the pendency of a forfeiture action, the department or a defendant may apply for an order dismissing the complaint and terminating the forfeiture action in the interest of justice.
(B) Such application for relief provided in subparagraph (a) hereof must be made in writing and upon notice to all parties. The court, in its discretion, may direct that notice be given to any other person having an interest in the property.
(C) An application for the relief provided for in subparagraph (A) hereof must be brought exclusively in the supreme court in the county in which the forfeiture action is pending.
(D) The court may grant the relief provided in subparagraph (A) hereof if it finds that such relief is warranted by the existence of some compelling factor, consideration or circumstance demonstrating that forfeiture of the property or any part thereof, would not serve the ends of justice. Reporting and payment of the tax imposed by or pursuant to article eighteen of this chapter with respect to such liquors subsequent to the seizure of such liquors shall not constitute a compelling factor, consideration or circumstance warranting the granting of the relief provided for in subparagraph (A) of this paragraph. In determining whether such relief is warranted by the existence of some compelling factor, consideration or circumstances pursuant to this paragraph, the court may, however, take into account the fact that such taxes with respect to the seized liquors have been reported and remitted to the state prior to the temporary seizure of such liquors if such unregistered importation into the state was effected in good faith and without knowledge of the requirement of registration and without intent to evade tax. The court must issue a written decision, stating the basis for an order issued pursuant to this paragraph.
(5) An action under this subdivision shall be stayed during the pendency of a criminal action which is related to it; provided, that upon motion of a defendant in the forfeiture action or the department, a court may, in the interest of justice and for good cause, and with the consent of all parties, order that the forfeiture action proceed despite the pending criminal action; and provided that such stay shall not prevent the granting or continuance of an order confirming the seizure provided under this section.
(6) The total that may be recovered shall not exceed the value of the liquors seized and, in addition, either the value of the vehicle or other means of transportation used to transport such liquors or three times the amount of the tax, interest and penalty under article eighteen of this chapter with respect to the liquors, whichever is less.
(e) Return of property. If (1) the department fails to move for confirmation of the seizure pursuant to subdivision (c) of this section or (2) a court denies an application for an order confirming the seizure or (3) judgment is entered against the department in the forfeiture action and that judgment is affirmed after all appeals are exhausted or the time within which to appeal has expired, then the department shall restore such seized liquors, or liquors of a like quantity and type, or such seized vehicle or other means of transportation to the owners thereof. Alternatively, if such seized liquors have been sold as provided in subdivision (b) of this section, the department shall pay to the owners of such liquors the proceeds of such sale or, if greater, an amount of money representing the fair market value of the liquors at the time of the seizure.
(f) Release of property. A person whose property has been seized may move, upon notice to the commissioner, in the supreme court in the county in which the temporary seizure occurred, for an order releasing all or part of the property seized upon payment of the department's reasonable fees and expenses, if any. On such a motion, the defendant shall give an undertaking in accordance with article twenty-five of the civil practice law and rules, in an amount equal to the value of the property sought to be released, that defendant will pay the department the value of such property which may be adjudged forfeited (but in the case of the owner of a vehicle or other means of transportation, the amount of the undertaking required shall not exceed three times the amount of all taxes, interest and penalties due under article eighteen of this chapter).
(g) Disposal of property. The department, after a judicial determination of forfeiture, shall, in its discretion, either retain such seized property for its official use or sell such forfeited property at public sale. The net proceeds of any such sale, or of any sale of seized liquors as provided in subdivision (b) of this section, after deduction of the lawful expenses incurred, shall be deposited and disposed of pursuant to the provisions of section one hundred seventy-one-a of this chapter with respect to deposit and disposition of revenue.
(h) Wrongful seizure. A defendant in a forfeiture action may recover in an action for wrongful seizure all costs and damages, including reasonable attorneys' fees, which may be sustained by reason of the seizure if the defendant recovers judgment in the forfeiture action, or if it is finally decided that there was no justification for the seizure. In order to establish a claim for wrongful seizure, the defendant must establish by a preponderance of the evidence that the seizure was made without reasonable cause and not in good faith. An action for wrongful seizure under this subdivision shall be the defendant's exclusive remedy in connection with seizures made under this section. No suit or action for wrongful seizure under this section shall be instituted unless such suit or action is commenced within two years after the time when the property was seized.
(i) The remedies provided to the department by this section shall be in addition to any other remedies provided by law.
(j) An action under this section is civil and remedial and shall not be deemed to be a penalty or criminal forfeiture for any purpose. Except as otherwise provided by statute, the proceedings under this section shall be governed by the civil practice law and rules. An action under this section is not a criminal proceeding and shall not be deemed to be a previous prosecution under article forty of the criminal procedure law.
(k) An additional ground for seizure and forfeiture under this section shall be where such police officer or peace officer shall discover more than ninety liters of liquors in this state, with respect to which the taxes imposed by or pursuant to article eighteen of this chapter have not been paid or assumed by a person registered as a distributor pursuant to such article, which are in the course of distribution in this state or which are being sold in this state. All the foregoing subdivisions of this section shall apply to the seizure and forfeiture of liquors referred to in this subdivision and the vehicle transporting the same as if such foregoing subdivisions specifically referred to such grounds and as if such grounds set forth in this subdivision were set forth as grounds for seizure in subdivision (a) hereof. Provided that in the forfeiture action with respect to the liquors or vehicle referred to in this subdivision, the department shall be required to show that such liquors were found within the state and that they were in the course of distribution in this state or were being sold in this state.
(l) This section shall also apply to a forfeiture action with respect to the importation of more than ninety liters of liquors into a city imposing a tax pursuant to the authority of section four hundred forty-five of this chapter by a person not registered as a distributor for purposes of such tax or, in addition, with respect to the distribution or sale of untaxed liquors in such city.
Last modified: February 3, 2019