United States v. 1. $1,379,879.09 Seized From Bank of America

MEMORANDUM

The United States government appeals the district court’s award of attorney fees to Liquidators, who are persons appointed by the High Court of Antigua as liquidators of a bank named European Federal Credit Bank (Eurofed Bank Limited (In Liquidation)). “We review the factual determinations underlying an award of attorney[] fees for clear error and the legal premises a district court uses to determine an award de novo.” Ferland v. Conrad, Credit Corp., 244 F.3d 1145 , 1147-A8 (9th Cir.2001) (per curiam) (citation omitted). For the following reasons, we vacate the award and remand with instructions.

1. The district court did not err in holding that Liquidators’ success in the civil forfeiture action was not a hollow or de minimis victory. The action was dismissed with prejudice, after the government conceded that the action was untimely from its inception and should never have been filed at all. The fact that the government could achieve the same result through the separate means of criminal forfeiture did not lessen Liquidators’ burden in successfully defending against this civil forfeiture procedure. See 28 U.S.C. § 2465 (b)(1) (“Except as provided in para graph (2),…