United States v. 87 Skyline Terrace

26 F.3d 923 29 Fed.R.Serv.3d 676 UNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. 87 SKYLINE TERRACE; 47 Ridge Ave., Mill Valley, California, Defendants, and John Olagues, Norman Olagues and Southern Diversified Investors Inc., Claimants-Appellants. No. 92-16265. United States Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit. Submitted Dec. 17, 1993 * . Submission Withdrawn March 2, 1994. Resubmitted April 18, 1994. Decided June 6, 1994. N.C. Deday LaRene, Detroit, MI, and Doron Weinberg, Larson & Weinberg, San Francisco, CA, for claimants-appellants. Michael D. Howard, Asst. U.S. Atty., San Francisco, CA, for plaintiff-appellee. Appeal from the United States District Court for the Northern District of California. Before: WALLACE, Chief Judge, GARTH ** and WIGGINS, Circuit Judges. Opinion by Judge WIGGINS. WIGGINS, Circuit Judge: 1 The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) initiated forfeiture proceedings against two properties owned by appellants. The IRS failed to obtain prior authorization from the Treasury Secretary, as it was statutorily required to do. The district court dismissed with prejudice for lack of subject matter jurisdiction. Appellants moved for both attorneys' fees and restoration.…